Days for the Lost
by Superemopowerz
Summary: Spartan-008 should have been dead. No one could have survived a slip-space anomaly. Now thrust into a new world; where humanity is slowly dying from the undead and not from the Covenant. Li-008 must do whatever it takes to survive in this new hell. Well, there is one thing Spartans never die, they just go missing in action.
1. Chapter 1

This has been on my mind for awhile now. I decided to replay season 1 and 2 of The Walking Dead TellTale game for the anticipation of season 3. So I figured why not combine two of my favourite series?

Also wanted to thank my Beta Spliced-up-Angel.

Lastly, I would like to thank FUN 2 KNOW for allowing me to have a basis for my first chapter, much appreciated.

Disclaimer: I don't own jack shit.

* * *

"The devil asked me how I knew my way around the halls of hell. I told him I did not need a map for the darkness I know so well. " - unknown

Silence and a bright light were all he saw. Then, complete darkness. Is this the afterlife? The question surfaced through his thoughts.

He blinked. If this was the afterlife how could still retain his thoughts? As he slowly awoke, he realized he was in a middle of a crater. He grazed the surrounding area as the rocks, dirt, and trees around him melted, steaming, then sliced off. Almost giving an appearance of a slip-space rupture.

Gradually rising from his position, he took notice how peaceful the sky seemed. His surroundings were nothing but trees, he deduces that he's in a forest. However, he felt something was off- he felt lighter than he should. He looked down and realized that he was wearing a fully armoured ODST battle suit and not his MJOLNIR power assault armour. Hell, he wasn't even wearing his EVA helmet but a standard issue ODST helmet with UA/CNM attachment. Li scolded himself. He should have noticed the difference between HUD.

Sighing this brought another question to his mind: where was he? And how'd he end up here? Spartan Li-008, was confused, a feeling he did not relish at all. The last thing he remembered was attempting to repair a power conduit aboard a captured Covenant CAC-Class Assault Carrier _Ascendant Justice_. He, along with his Spartan brothers and sisters had gone up to the outer hall before they were ambushed by the remaining Elites who were still aboard the ship.

Spartan-008 decided to check if the suit had any of his memory logs, and to his surprise, the armour had every single one of his memory logs. From when he first wore the MJOLNIR to his last memory log. Pausing back to the events that transpired prior to him falling unconscious, reversing the video, Li paused when he found the events that transpired aboard the Ascendant Justice and what he saw boggled his mind: The plasma that burst from the ship's hull should have killed him. His entire vision was encompassed by nothing but blue-white plasma. Li should have been dead. He should not be standing here breathing. Don't get him wrong he didn't mind being alive. You know, fighting the good fight and all that. However, if his memory log is correct, Li should have been disintegrated. Had Doctor Halsey Forerunner crystal caused some sort of slip-space anomaly? That explains the crater, but not why he was wearing ODST BDU's and on wherever this unknown planet?

Li noticed that attached to his back were an ODST rucksack, an M7S submachine gun, and an M6C/SOCOM (also known as the M6S) handgun attached to his thigh. He knelt down and check what was inside the rucksack. What he found was surprising. A few health kits, two small boxes of MRE bars and a decent amount of ammo for his submachine gun and pistol. But something else caught his eye while searching through the bag. Two dark grey wrists mounted armour pieces. Li reluctantly put them on, in doing so, he accidentally activated them. He recognized them instantly, these were covenant Energy daggers. Getting up Li, activated his comms systems, trying to reach any UNSC outpost. "This is Petty Officer Second Class Spartan-008. Does anyone read? I need immediate extraction."

Nothing but static. Not one to give up so easily Li tried again. "I repeat this is Petty Officer Second Class Sierra-008. I need immediate extraction. Currently in unknown territory. Does anyone read, over?" Still nothing but the silence of static.

Sighing, Li decided to remove himself from the crater and try to find some sort of contact or civilization. For all, he knew he was stranded in some forest inside the unknown hostile territory. He just hoped that he finds human civilization rather than Covenant one.

Grabbing his silenced Submachine gun from his back, Li started walking northeast from his initial arrival. He did not get that far before he started hearing a mixture of groaning and moaning nearby. Following the mixture of odd sounds, he spotted a man crouched over a deer. But something felt off about this. The man clearly had bloodied hands, but he had no tools to skin the deer nor any hunting supplies.

After a brief moment of debating with himself, the Spartan settled to make contact with the civilian. He needed information on where he was. All he knew was this might be a human planet due to the civilian in front of him. Slinging his SMG on his back to appear less threatening, even without a gun Li was a Spartan-II, with or without his power armour. Amongst his brothers and sisters, his martial arts and CQC abilities were unrivalled. If anything were to happen, he could easily take down one lone unarmed civilian. He approached the man slowly and trying to appear as non-threatening as possible for a two-meter tall super soldier could possibly be.

"Sir, do not be alarmed. I am not here to hurt you. If you do not mind me asking, I'd like to know where I currently am."

At first, the man ceased any movement, then started twitching erratically before turning to face Li. There was this feeling that this wasn't going to turn out so good. And he was right. The man's skin was rotten to a pale ghostly white. Dirt and blood smeared all over his torn open mouth. This whole scene reminded him of something John's description of the Flood.

The man slowly rose to his feet; looking directly at the Spartan. Then his face contorted to a look of pure unadulterated hunger before slowly approaching the Spartan.

Before the undead could even approach any further, Li withdrew his combat knife from his upper right chest plate. "Sir, I am going to ask you to stop where you are." The man acted like he didn't even hear what he said and instead sped up towards him. "Sir, this is your last warning. If you stop now, I can apply the proper medical attention you need."

The man finally got close enough to Li to grab him, but Li sidestepped, he grabbed one of its outstretched arms into a grip before twisting harshly, snapping the creature's appendage out of place pushing him to ground. The creature was unperturbed by this, not even bothering to flinch or show any ounce of pain from just having its arm broken like a twig. Its arm dangling uselessly at its side, the creature only made more moaning noises, not even a whimper of pain.

"Sir, I am going to let you go after I check your arm and any other injuries. I implore you to stand still and don't do anything stupid."

The moment Li let go of his arm and man, if it could even call a man, lunged at him. Before he could get closer Li brought a palm strike to his face. Hearing the crushing sound of bone and cartilage. The creature instantly fell, and Li raised his right boot before sharply pressing downward on the thing's face with enough to completely cave in its skull and brain. Putting away his knife to its helm, Li inspected the corpse. Even with the suit's air filters, the creature's dead carcass smelled horrid. Li checked the pulse to make sure he really was dead. What concerned him the most was how the blood pigment was different. From the looks of it, this man died awhile ago before he ended by Li's boot.

Determined to find more contacts with other human civilization, Li forward his march out of this forest. His walk continued till he passed an inclined and walked to an empty road that stretched for miles.

Following the road, he climbed the higher elevation until he saw a sign that said: "Welcome to Macon."

* * *

I rewrote this like 3 different times. I originally had it so that he had his MJOLNIR, but decided against it. So I wrote it as he was without his armour with nothing but plain clothes. Decided against that as well. So I was like why not ODST armour? And it turned out like this. Anyways what do you guys think? Let me know!


	2. Chapter 2

Wow, I can't believe so many people have viewed this story! I greatly appreciate it, you guys. I want to thank everyone who has followed, favorited, and reviewed my story. Also want to thank Spliced-up-Angel and Aberron for betaing this story. You guys should definitely check them out.

Bruhreally: I completely understand how you feel. However, that was not intentional. I originally wrote this story with a Spartan-IV in mind due to the fact they are so many of them and are an open slate. But I decided against that since no one likes the IVs, even me. Then I wrote it with Jorge due to the fact he also "died" from a slip-space rupture, but I was against that as well. I basically have written various characters from the Halo universe. Hell, I even had the Rookie from ODST. I eventually decided on Li-008 would be the best choice. Also, I hope this chapter changed your mind.

Jerry: Thank you so much.

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.

* * *

Carley was not having a good day. Hell, right now any day would be better than this. This morning she argued with her producer about her reporting the International Cherry Blossom Festival. This was her punishment for her last incident when she was on the field.

Deep in her thoughts, her partner and News Editor noticed her distress. "Hey, come on now. I know this isn't as exciting like your usual stuff, but who knows maybe something might happen."

"Really now, Patricia? We are going to Macon! Nothing really ever happens there!" Carley tried to argue back.

Patricia sighed restfully. "Look I get it. We screwed up, but just take it as a learning experience or something." Smiling she continued. "Now where's my no-nonsense reporter, who take no bullshit?"

Carley couldn't help but smile a bit at her partner attempt to cheer her up. "Here I am."

Patricia gave her a big smile and handed her favorite drink. "Great! Now I think you deserve some coffee."

"Thanks, Patricia. You really know how to make to cheer me up." Carley eagerly accepted the coffee, smelling the biter aroma before taking a big gulp.

"Hey, no problem. We're partners in crime, aren't we? And Producer Dave can be an asshole at times."

Carley couldn't help but laugh at her friend's statement. "At times? Patricia, he's always an asshole! Always breathing down my neck about all sorts of bullshit! Hell, I think the only reason why he's like that to me is 'cause I didn't want to sleep with him. You know damn well he's been trying to get in my pants since day one."

Patricia couldn't help but chuckle at her friend. "Yeah don't get me started on that. But yeah, you're right. I was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt."

"Anyways, how much further are we until the festival?"

"Not that much further, to be honest. Ten minutes at most, maybe? If traffic ain't being a bitch right now." She anxiously honked at the car in front of them.

Nodding her head, Carley stared outside her car window. She notices how peaceful the clouds were. Maybe this isn't so bad after all. No life or death stories, or over the top ones either. Maybe this is what she exactly needs. She needed a break from all her previous work. Hell, she almost felt like an adrenaline junkie from all stories she used to do. Carley's thoughts were interrupted when she saw man limp towards the alley. From the looks of it, the man seemed severally injured.

She abruptly shook her partner's shoulder. "Hey, Patricia! Did you see that?"

"I can't really see anything besides this bullshit traffic." Patricia gestured towards all the cars. "Besides, there's no way in hell am I going to let you drive. Not like last time that is."

Giving her friend a pout, Carley couldn't help but shake her head. "Oh, come on! That was an accident! We needed to get out of there as fast as we could! I saved you life, didn't I?"

Just when Patricia was about to respond she was interrupted when a car almost hit their van. "Jesus Christ!" Patricia exclaimed. "Watch where you're going asshole!"

Carley laughed at her friend's attempt to curse out the other driver. Her partner gave her a glare. "Of course you would laugh at this. We almost died, you know! God, sometimes I feel like you like all that danger stuff."

Ignoring her partner, Carley turned on the radio. The man on the radio sounded really distressed. "According to the World Health Organization and the Centre for Disease Control an epidemic might be around the corner. They are requesting that if you or anyone who is infected or show signs of infection, to please inform them directly. The symptoms include: high fever..." Before the radio announcer could continue, Patricia turns off the radio.

"What the hell Patricia! That could be important!" Carley exclaimed.

"Hey, I know that look you had there. That same look got us in trouble in the first place." Sighing she continued, "Look we get this cherry blossom thing over with and then maybe we can get Steve to help coax Dave to put us on something we normally do. So, let's go! We're here now." Parking near the festival Patricia got out with rest of the crew. "Let's go, Carley, we ain't got all day."

Carley was about to retort her about her infamous "look", but decided against it. Maybe she was right, after all of this, things could go back to how they used to be. She hopped out of the van and grabbed the mic. "So, how'd I look?"

"You look great, Carley. Now let's this over with. When we're done, let's grab some lunch. My treat."

Carley took a deep breath. She could do this. It's just like every other report.

"Alright, we are live in 3...2...1..."

"Hello, this is Carley Vigil. We are currently out here in Macon on this beautiful July afternoon. We are here for Macon's annual Cherry Blossom festival." Carley approached one of the residents nearby. "Hi, I was wondering if you could answer a few questions for us?"

"Sure," The Caucasian male, who looked around his early thirties replied.

"I am with WABE news and we wondering what your thoughts on the festival were?" She pointed the mic at him.

"Actually, I don't know much about the festival. I just moved to Macon a couple months ago. I'm Doug by the way." The man, Doug, gave her a goofy smile and continued, "Well from someone who's not around here, this certainly brings the community together and is a great opportunity to meet new people."

"That's great to hear, Doug." She turned back to the camera. "You..." She was interrupted by her partners scream. What she saw made her legs weak. Her partner was being attacked- no eaten by the same injured man from earlier! She tried to take a step back, but her legs wouldn't move. Instead, she fell back. All she could see and hear was her friend's screams, her cry for help.

But then more of... them started to show up and grabbed Patricia! They were pulling her until she fell to the ground. Carley couldn't move, she was petrified, helplessly watching her friend get eaten alive.

Until one of them notice her and slowly got up. He started limping slowly towards her. The man looked sickly pale, rotten flesh and those eyes were just... nothing could describe what that man's face. The monster finally got close enough to her and lunged at her.

Carley started screaming. "No! Stop please! Get away from me!" She tried backing away but was stopped by a fire hydrant. She closed her eyes and continued to scream the same words. But when nothing happened. When she opened her eyes, her clothes were splattered with blood and the dead man was lying right next to her. Carley then noticed a man was next to her. He was tall like goddamn 7 feet tall and wore some sort of armor.

He offered her hand to help her up and she reluctantly accepted. When she got up she finally noticed all the screams that surrounded her. The mass panic of people running and dying. She turned to look at her partner, who looked half eaten by those dead freaks that were around her. She pointed and asked, "Did you do this?" The strange tall man nodded and started firing his weapon at those other freaks.

* * *

30 minutes prior

Li started jogging towards the city and what he saw shocked him to the core. Nothing really surprises a Spartan. When you were raised to fight for humanity's survival, you were taught to keep your emotions in check. So, the enemy doesn't catch you by surprise and kill you. In the battlefield, split-second decisions can save your life and those around you.

But what Li saw was rows of cars that filled the traffic. However, these weren't ordinary cars, these vehicles were antiques that should be in some antique shop or stored in a museum somewhere; not driven by today's standard. As he got further into the city he noticed the architecture of the buildings. Most of the buildings were made out of ordinary concrete, steel, and glass. Everything Li had seen had not been used in the last five hundred years or so. The Spartan was distracted by the sight of a walker slowly advancing near him.

Li's instincts kicked in, everything started to slow down, entering what Kelly had dubbed "Spartan Time." Li pulled out his combat knife and stabbed the undead through the side of his head. He leg swept him and smashed his skull in with his foot. This all happened in a matter of milliseconds. The Spartan moved away from the now dead creature and headed for the centre of the city.

In spite of all of this unusual circumstance, he still needed to find someone that could get him contact with the UNSC. He hoped that someone could explain to him what was going on.

As he got farther into the city, Li got a sinking suspicion that he might not be in Kansas anymore. His suspicions grew further when he noticed the strange looks he received from the civilians. The glances the civilians gave him was if they have never seen an ODST before. But everyone knew what an ODST looked like, they were United Nation Marine Corps special forces, so this started to make Li uneasy. He needed to find out what hell is going on and fast.

Li quicken his pace till he heard screams. Then Li just floored it, sprinting as fast as he could, he wasn't like Rabbit, but still can be fast. When he arrived where all the noises were, what he saw sickened him. People were eating each other, helpless children screaming and crying for their parents, fathers trying to defend their families. It reminded him of Harvest when the Covenant first appeared. What knocked him from his thoughts was a woman close to him screaming for help, he turned saw some of them approach a young woman. Taking out his M7S he fired a shot at the undead head. Turing, he saw several undead eating a helpless woman. Firing few more headshots, effectively killing them.

When the woman finally opened her eyes, Li offered her a hand in which she accepted. By the looks of it, she seemed terrified. The young woman put her hand over mouth at the view of her friend's half-eaten corpse. She asked the Spartan if he killed those creatures. Li just nodded in response.

Turning his attention back to the surrounding area, Li started shooting multiple targets who he deemed to be undead. Li made a motion with his hands to signal her to stay behind. The young brunette nodded her head. More and more started to surround them, cornering them back to the news van. The brunette ran at the van. She most likely had fled away to a safer location in the van or drive off. Li couldn't help but smirk, maybe he could finally be serious and not need to worry about an extra civilian.

But just when he was about to activate his energy daggers, he heard gunfire behind him. He couldn't help but frown when he noticed it was the lady from before. He really wanted to try out his new daggers.

The woman in question gave him a smirk while returning fire at the walkers. "My name is Carley, by the way." Well, well, well, looks like the civilian had some guts after all. "Umm I don't know how long you want to stay here in this firefight, but I recommend we get the hell out of here. Before we are completely surrounded." Carley, continued.

Li nodded his head in response and pointed towards the van. Carley made a quick breakthrough towards the car. Meanwhile, Li backed away slowly, albeit return firing at those things. When he got in, a man in his early thirties ran at them. "Wait! Wait for me!" He cried. Bringing up his gun Li gave the man cover fire as he ran towards the car. The fat man finally got in and yelled, "DRIVE!" Carley pressed on the accelerator and they finally drove off.

"Thanks for the save out there. My name is Doug by the way." The man smiled and offered a handshake. Li reluctantly returned the gesture. "Woah, dude you got one helluva grip!" Doug exclaimed.

Carley decided to speak the question that was on everyone's mind. "Ok so does anyone know what the fuck is going on?" Both men shook their heads. "Well isn't that fucking great."

"Shit" Carley noticed the gas was running low. "Guys we need to stop by a gas station. This van is almost tapped out." She began cursing under her breath about girl name Patricia.

Li finally decided to speak up. "I highly recommend we leave this vehicle and take the rest of the way on foot." Carley and Doug were shocked when they heard this mysterious man's voice. Also, not to mention the guy's accent. Ignoring their shocked expressions, Li continued, "We also need to figure out where our destination is. I believe we need to find some sort of shelter."

"Damn nice accent there! You from Britain or something?" Doug asked. Shaking his head, Li thought, _civilians_.

Carley ignored Doug's comment. "Sounds like a plan, chief." She honked her horn. "Only if we can get out of traffic first."

The Spartan glanced at the rear view mirror and the sight of the dead making their way against the traffic. "I believe we need to leave the van right now. Those creatures are going to make their way towards us and by the looks of it, there might be panic from the dead eating people in their cars."

Doug gave a questioning glance at the Spartan in which he directed them to the mirror. Both Carley Doug noticed the undead grabbing people from their cars and eating them right in the middle of the streets. "At this rate, those... things would be able to catch up to us," Li added.

Not needing a second thought, the three left the van and started to make their way out of traffic.

Li guided them to the front of a store. A clothing and shoe store to be exact.

"Ahh... What are we doing in here?" Carley questioned. By Doug's facial expression, he seemed also dumbfounded.

"You." Li pointed at Carley. "You need proper footwear. You can not run in heels. I rather not watch you die from tripping over something like that. I suggest you grab something and fast."

The store in question was dimly lit. You couldn't tell what was in here. Li grabbed his M6S from the magnetic plate on his thigh and handed the magnum to Doug.

Doug stared at the gun and back at the super soldier. "Umm, I don't know how to use one of those."

Li sighed, _Why do civilians always have to be so difficult?_ "Doug you are going with Carley to make sure nothing happens. I don't want any surprises. I'll guard the door to make sure no one gets in," he responded, gesturing towards the door. Li notice that Doug was still hesitating about taking the pistol.

 _Damn civilians_. "Alright, all you have to do point and shoot." He demonstrated. "Also, make sure the safety is off. These two bottoms here turn on the flashlight and laser sights." Not waiting for a response, the Spartan shoved the gun to him, turned and headed to guard the door.

Taking a deep breath, Doug followed Carley.

* * *

Finally catching up to Carley, Doug sat next to her as she tried on some flats. Not knowing what to say, he decided to talk about their residential soldier.

"So what do you think about our "little" guardian angel over there?"

"To be honest?" Carley changed into a different pair of shoes. "I don't know what to think. The way he acts, talks, and hell the way he even walks screams military. But I never saw anyone from the military with that type of armor before. And by guessing his accent, it seems he's from Britain. So maybe SAS?"

"Let's not forget how fucking huge that guy is! Damn near looks like he's 7 foot tall! Oh, don't get me started on his strength…" He rubbed his wrists in emphasis. "When I shook his hand, it felt like he could rip my whole arm off."

She hummed in agreement, "My instincts tell me we can trust him, but something feels off about him." Finally finding a right pair, she got up. "All I can say is that he saved both our asses today. And I don't know about you, but I feel safer with that seven-foot tall "guardian angel" than being out there by myself." Doug couldn't help but agree.

"Anyways, how do I look?"

"Ahh... Good, I guess?" Doug responded confusingly.

"Just good?" She questioned, giving Doug a fake glare.

"Huh, what? I.. I mean umm you look great?"

She burst out laughing at Doug's confusion. "Just kidding, let's go." When they were about to leave, a walker hiding between the aisles suddenly grabbed Doug's leg, tripping him over and dropping the M6S.

"Fuck fuck fuck! Carley help!" Doug yelled in panic.

Carley quickly shot the walker, killing her.

Getting up and grabbing the M6S, Dough rubbed his head and said, "Jesus! Thanks for the save Carley."

Li hurried towards them. "We need to leave now! That gunshot alerted them here. I barricaded the door the best I could. But we need to leave now!"

All three of them started rushing in the direction of the back exit. Li was in the front, while Carley and Doug were at the back. A walker tried to grab Li, instead, he hit him with the butt of his SMG. The Spartan open the back exit, leading to the alley. Letting Carley and Doug go first, closing the door behind him.

While the two civilians were catching their breaths, Li motion them to follow him. Just as they got out of the alleyway, they saw how everything was in complete chaos. People screaming, looting, running, and getting eaten alive. Li turned to his group and noticed how pale they had gotten from all this. "Oi, listen up! We need to find some shelter as soon as possible. Being out in the open like this is extremely dangerous. Do you know any place that'll do?" Carley shook her head, but Doug had his finger on his chin, contemplating.

"I know a place. It's not far from here -a few blocks from here and near my uncle's house. Sorta at the outskirts of town. It should have food and medicine. I think it's called Everett's Pharmacy or something."

"Aye, that should suffice. Lead the way, Doug."

* * *

After close to a half an hour, Carley realized she never asked the man's name. She mentally scolded herself. This could be perfect opportunity to figure out who this guy was. She decided now or never. "I never did get your name?"

Li was focused on both their surrounding area and Carley's poor attempt to get to know her saviour. He, however, did not respond to that question.

That frustrated Carley. Here she was trying to be nice and get to know this guy and he pretends not to listen. But not one to give up so easily, she tried something else. "Oh ok... So we're you from? That accent of yours makes me think Britain." Again, Carley was answered with nothing but silence.

"Ahm so are you in the military or something?" She tried again.

"Or something."

 _Yes! He finally responded!_ Carley couldn't help but smile at her triumph. It was starting to get awkward too, she thought. Carley tried pushing further. Her reporter's instinct was telling her he was hiding something big. "Really? I notice the way you handled yourself back there. It just screamed military. Oh, also I am a news reporter for the WABE News." She noticed the small nudge in his head. He nodded! _Good, he's paying attention._

As they continued to pass street after street, Carley couldn't help notice how quiet things had become. She felt off as if something was going to happen at any second. She wasn't WABE's best reporter if she didn't have her wits. "Doug, how much further?"

"Don't worry, it's just around the corner," Doug responded reassuringly.

When they finally got there, the area was a mess. Wrecked cars laid abandoned, stores left unchecked. Some cars had even run into some of the stores.

"Here it is guys. Everett's Pharmacy Drugstore." He gestured to the big building with a big red neon sign that said Drugs.

Then they heard the moaning. Doug hurried to the door, opening it for them. He motion for them to hurry. Carley not needing to be told twice rushed in. When they entered, they realized that they weren't the only ones who thought this shelter was a good idea.

The group consisted of an older man, a woman, and the young Asian boy. Carley's soldier companion immediately brought up his gun and pointed at the other group.

The older gentlemen instantly got angry. "What the fuck do you think you are doing?" The soldier didn't respond.

"Dad, please stop. Don't do anything." The woman pleaded with her father. "Since you haven't shot at us yet, I am guessing you could please put your gun down? We are unarmed." She looked at Carley. "Hey, can you tell your friend here to please lower his gun. We mean you no harm and are unarmed."

Against Carley better judgment, she slowly approached the Spartan put her hand on his gun letting him know it was fine.

The woman breath a sigh of relief when he finally complied. "Thank you so much. My name is Lilly. This is my dad, Larry. And the other guy over there is Glenn."

Doug tried to ease the tension as much as possible by stepping forward. "It's good to finally see someone still alive from this mess. My name is Doug. She's Carley and umm..." he gave a questioning glance to the super soldier. "What is your name?"

* * *

Li paused taking a deep breath. He knew this was bound to happen. He was restricted by the UNSC, not allowed to reveal any of his information. Sighing, he decided to say something. "You can call me Sierra," he answered. Li decided these people were safe, so he slung his SMG on his back.

He watched his group mingled with the other group. He wasn't exactly the most social one compared to his brothers and sisters- especially compared to Jorge. Li went and find a corner for himself. He sat down and finally had time to catch up with what had transpired today. He knew this planet must be Earth; that much was certain. Another certainty was that he was in the state of Georgia, and if he wasn't mistaken that was part of the United Republic of North America. But if all of this was true why was the entire place covered with old technology?

Li's deep thoughts were interrupted by Glenn. "So, Stormtrooper, what's your story?"

Story? Li had no idea what he was talking about. He never understood why civilians, even some soldiers like to talk to disturb people when they are not needed. Li decided it was best if just stayed silent. Maybe he'd go away.

"Umm ok? Stormtrooper, where'd you get that sick ass armor? It's pretty fucking awesome."

Or the civilian could continue to talk to him and ignore the do not disturb sign he wore. Deciding not to pay attention to Glenn's useless banter, Li went back to his thoughts until he reached this question that has been lingering on his mind for awhile now. "Glenn, was it? Do you know what is the year and date of today?"

"Shit dude! Nice accent there, Stormtrooper! Now you are really fitting that name!" Again, this was why Li couldn't deal with civilians. Easily distracted. "Glenn, what are the year and date?" He asked again with a much sterner voice.

"Oh, it's July 21st, 2013."

Wait. Did he hear that right? Has his enhanced hearing worsened with age? "Are you sure?" He pressed.

Glenn gave the Stormtrooper a confused stare, "Pretty sure, man. I remember delivering pizza two days ago before everything went to shit."

Li's brain instantly calculated everything a thousand metres per second. Then everything clicked. The vehicles, the architecture, everything he saw today made sense. Slip-space travel took ships in another plane of existence and slipspace rupture. While, theoretically this could explain why he was transported from the twenty-sixth century to the twenty-first century. However, that didn't explain the supposed apocalypse. Something like this would have been marked in history, but Li didn't remember any of this from his history lessons from Déjà. This would be important... unless. Then it hit him harder than a Brute Chieftain's gravity hammer- he was in some sort of alternate universe.

"Bloody Hell."

* * *

And the plot thickens! Let me know what you guys think. Please review it means a lot and I would love to hear what your thoughts are.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey, everyone! I am back for another update! I'm sorry that it's late but I got caught up with everything that happened in past few months with school and shit.

Oh before I forget anything:

Andormanda is trash, shame on you Bioware for making a shit game.

Brian Reed finally got fired from 343i! Halo might finally be saved!

To my 40k fans IDGAF what GW says it's Eldar, not Aeldari.

That is all. Enjoy. Also thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited and followed this story.

* * *

Lilly did not like this one bit. Letting those complete strangers in here was seriously a bad idea. But what could she do? Two of them had guns. Especially the tall one. The armor he wore and everything made him look like he was ready for a goddamn war. Let's not forget that this store barely had any supplies. Between this new group's supplies and her own, there weren't enough supplies for all of them. She cursed underneath her breath. This place was supposed to have everything they needed; food, medicine, and shelter. She chose it thinking it would have everything, but she was wrong. This whole place was ransacked when they got here. Now she had to share what little she had to another group. So, no she did not like this one bit.

Lilly pressed her back against one of the counters. She shivered, it was cold. She cursed at herself, realizing that she should have worn something more appropriate than a stupid brown tank top. But what could she do? There wasn't a fucking sign that the goddamn apocalypse was coming. Lilly released a sigh, this was no time to get upset. Their survival was at stake here and any moment of them could die or worse- get turned into one of those... things. She stops her thoughts, this wasn't the time to think the worst possible outcome. Lilly needed to get it together. If not for herself, for the people she's in charge of. She observed her people. Glenn was getting to know the fat one, what was his name again? Doug, yeah that's it. She surveyed around and notice that the other one, Carley. She was crouched over, scavenging or searching for something. Lily shook her head, what a foolish attempt. This place had nothing of value besides the drugs behind the counter. Lilly examined Carley more closely; she dressed in business casual. Her guess she was probably some officer worker. Going life day to day never expecting the world to end.

She looked around once more. She glanced at the armored one, Sierra. He was just standing there like a robot. Lilly's stares were not gone unnoticed. Sierra seemingly noticing her gaze and stared right back at her through his helmet. Lilly immediately diverted her gaze somewhere else. That was awkward, she thought.

Maybe it was time to get to know this new group. It would probably remove the tension that was building up. Taking Glenn's queue she decided it would be best. However, since Doug was occupied by Glenn, that left Carley and Sierra. Debating within herself, she concluded that Carley would be the best choice. Also considering Carley seemed helluva lot more approachable than Sierra.

Taking one last deep breath, Lilly slowly walked up to Carley.

"Hey, umm Carley. What are you doing?" Well nice way to start off when you already know what she's doing. But deep down Lilly hoped she found something useful.

Carley jumped in surprise and accidently hit her head on the ledge.

"Oh crap! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you like that." Lilly quickly tried to apologize.

Carley rubbed her head, "Yeah, don't worry about it."

"So I was wondering what were you searching for? Maybe I could help?" She asked, bringing back to her earlier question.

"I doubt it." Realizing what she said, she immediately apologized as well. "Sorry didn't mean it like that. I meant like- I- ahh never mind." She stumbled. "I was trying to find anything useful. You know, supplies and such." Carley let out a sigh. "That was the whole reason we came here in the first place," she said lowly.

Lilly couldn't help but sigh as well. "To tell you the truth you probably should stop 'cause when we got here this place was already looted. Me and Glenn scavenged what we could from here. What we found was barely enough. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news."

Carley shook her, "No worries. I figured that was the case. But I just wanted to make sure. Anyways all I found was a couple of batteries. Whatever good that'll do."

Damn, so much for hope she might found some supplies. "So can you believe it? The dead walking I mean." Lilly changing the subject.

Carley chuckled a bit. "In all honestly, no I didn't. I was a reporter for WABE news. Me and my crew were heading to Macon for the annual cherry blossom festival. Yeah, I know interesting stuff, right?" She stopped for a brief moment and looked over at Sierra. Upon doing so she brought attention to the floor. "You know he saved me." That caught Lilly by surprise. "Who?"

"When I was in a middle of an interview, those things came out of nowhere and attack my crew. They were... were grabbing onto them, dragging them onto the ground. And I just stood there watch it all happened. I was terrified, I couldn't move." She wrapped her arms around herself. "I watched as my friends got eaten alive right in front of me and I just stood there doing nothing to save them." Lilly noticed the sorrowful expression on her face and the tears slowly forming in her eyes. "One of them noticed me and came for me. It would have gotten me if it weren't for Sierra over there." Carley brought her head up and looked directly at Lilly, tears still in her eyes. "So, whatever you might have against him please know he isn't such a bad guy. He even saved Doug." Carley gave her determined face as she wiped the tears off her face.

Lilly was stunned by Carley's bluntness. She felt pity for her, though. To have to witness your friends get eaten alive. Lilly admired her bravery for holding it together for this long. Still, everything must have been crushing down on her; considering all the adrenaline from trying to escape to a safe place had faded. Lilly understood what Carley was going through. Lilly gave a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I get it. Don't worry, I get it. I also witness my close friends die in front of me." She let out tried sigh and continued, "It's a very hard thing to grasp. You constantly think that you could have done more but looking back at it there wasn't a single thing you could've done" She gave encouraging squeeze on her shoulder.

Carley returned it with a sad smile. "Thanks, Lilly that means a lot." After wiping the last of her tears, she continued, "So what did you do before all of this?"

"Me? Oh, I was an officer in the Air Force. I was a captain before all of this." Lilly said with an air pride. "I finally got a few days off from work. I was on my way to visit my dad before one of those things hit my car. I was scared that I hit someone and I went to check if he was okay. But instead, he tried to grab me. He would have gotten me if not for my training. After that, I realized that I had to get my dad the hell out of here. We met Glenn when my car ran out of gas and he helped us out. Gave us ride and everything. We decided that we need a place to lay low. We thought this place would have food and medicine, but by the time we got here this place was already cleaned out."

Carley let out a small chuckle, "I guess we were both looking for a break before all of this started."

Lilly couldn't help but let out her own laugh, "It would seem so." After the exchange Lilly decided to ask the question that was on her mind ever since they arrived here. "I have been meaning to ask this. Do you know anything about him?"

"Who? Sierra?" Lilly nodded in agreement.

The reporter's gaze drifted to the soldier. Lilly could already assume that Carley was being reluctant to delve into information about the soldier. Hell, she even defended him a minute ago. Carley sighed, "To be perfectly honest I don't know anything about him. Except that he is military. But my guess is that he's probably from the UK. From the accent, of course." Carley looked around and brought herself closer to Lilly and whispered, "I think he's part special forces, maybe SAS. In all honesty, I don't know where he's from. He wears the most advanced armor I have ever seen and carries himself like a soldier. So your guess is good as mine."

Lilly immediately reeled back. She couldn't believe it. They have a complete unknown and that didn't sit well with her. No wonder her gut told her there was something off about him. In all her time in the Air Force, she always relied on her gut on dangerous situations and since the whole world might have gone to hell, everything was fucking dangerous. This would not do. Lilly needed to know what the hell he was.

Sinking suspicion rose from Carley. The scorn on Lilly's face was ever present and Carley knew it was directed to Sierra. "Look, Lilly, I get it. He's different. I got the same vibe off him myself. However, he saved me and Doug, so that counts him ok in my book."

Lilly gave Carley a suspicious glare. She knew what Carley was doing, but she didn't know anything about this man and apparently neither his group. Damn it for all she knew he could be extremely dangerous. And no, why in hell could she can have someone like that around her father?

Lilly finally made up her mind. She needed to confront Sierra. She glanced at him. He was still at the same spot, just standing there like nothing could touch him. Lilly knew what she had to do. She moved past Carley, howbeit stopped when she felt Carley's hand on her arm.

"I get why you are doing this but please understand we all have our secrets." Carley pleaded to Lilly.

She understood that a man could have their secrets, but still if those very secrets put her father's life in danger those secrets could go to hell. Lilly shrugged Carley's hand and went to the soldier.

He seemed to be occupied with something that related to his helmet. Sierra stop what he was doing when he noticed Lilly approach. He didn't say anything, but was looming over her. A shiver crawled down her spine. The way he stared down at her and how she couldn't see his face. Instead, she saw her own reflection staring back down at her from his dark cobalt vizor. It creeped the hell out of her.

Lilly finally comprehended how freaking tall he was. By the looks of it, he was seven goddamn feet tall. She had to tilt her head all the way back just to get eye level… well, her eyes and his helmet. She could just imagine how sore her neck was going to be after this talk. Even then she wasn't really looking at him. The man hid behind his stupid high tech helmet. Yet, what really irked her the most was how he barely acknowledged her presence. She was an officer in the Air Force for God's sake! She deserved some respect. When she opened her mouth to finally say something, she stopped and glanced deeper at her reflection from his polarized visor. A very disturbing thought arose from her mind. The way Sierra held himself was indeed military, but there was something else too. It felt like a stoic predator patiently waiting to pounce on his prey. Lilly swallowed a lump in her throat. And that damn visor wasn't helping either.

Lilly finally said something, instead of staring blankly at the beast. "Hey, I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute?"

The man in question did not respond nor did he gave any indication he cared. A long pregnant pause surrounded them. Lilly returned to her earlier thoughts. No, she did not like this one bit.

* * *

Li scanned the store. This place was not defendable. It had multiple breaches; windows were broken and various other damages. When he asked Doug about a shelter that would provide protection and supplies, he expected something more acceptable.

This place barely had any supplies for the lot of them. And the medicine was locked away behind a door. By Li's estimation, an alarm would set off if they forced their way in. Judging what happened before, those things were attracted by the noise. This whole place would be swarmed if the alarm goes off. This whole store was one big booby trap.

Li sighed, maybe he should search for anything useful. He should probably ask the leader of the other group if they had searched this place thoroughly yet.

His thoughts were interrupted when he sensed preying eyes on him. The super soldier already knew who it was. It was the leader of the other group, Lilly. He knew how her dark brown eyes were trying to take in every detail of him -trying to read if he was a danger or not. Good, Li thought, as a leader you need to understand the people around you and examine every possibility. Not only for your safety but those you lead as well.

By now Li knew she was military. Just the way she held herself. The aura surrounding her that demanded respect. But there was another thing, cockiness was warped in there as well. Officer most likely, Li concluded.

The Spartan noted that she wanted to talk to him. Just the way she fidgeted. Debating how to approach the super soldier. The way she avoided his gaze when he returned her gaze. But of course, how could one woman approach a two-metre tall super soldier? So, she opted out to confront Carley first since Glenn was holding Doug's attention at the moment. Good, Glenn didn't know when to be quiet.

The super soldier could hear them perfectly. It would seem Carley was already doing what she was supposed to be doing; thoroughly looking for supplies. Li mentally cursed himself. It seemed that Lilly's group had scavenged what was left of this place before they arrived. This place was ransacked before Lilly and her group even arrived there. Be that as it may, he couldn't help but applaud Carley's effort. If this event continued, he has no doubt that Carley would have a higher survivability than most.

Li's attention was diverted elsewhere, he realised that something was off about his HUD. He mentally scolded himself. He had yet to connect his Spartan neural interface to the ODST battle suit. Pressing a button on the side of his helmet. Li suddenly felt the familiar rush and small sting of activation. The ODST HUD came to life. The all too familiar noise of his health bar going full. The compass activated, showing which direction he was in. On the right side of his HUD, it showed him his weapons and ammo. Both his M7S/Caseless Submachine gun and the M6C/SOCOM at peak ammo capacity. On the left side, Li couldn't be but a bit surprised. He had three M9 High-Explosive dual-purpose grenades also known as the frag grenade to most. No, that was not what caught his attention, it was the two Type-1 Antipersonnel grenades, what all Covenant forces favourited and the UNSC dubbed the plasma grenade. Lastly, it was the three Type-3 Antipersonnel/AntiMatériel incendiary grenades; that was constantly favourited by the Jiralhanae forces. Also known as the "fire bomb" by the UNSC. When the time arose he decided he should probably thoroughly check his rucksack.

Despite all of this, he disliked how the ODST HUD lacked a motion scanner. However, on the plus side, the helmet provided him the Visual Intelligence System, Reconnaissance, or VISR for short. Li never understood why his Spartan family never received VISR, but then again they had motion tracker and night vision. So he guessed it was understandable.

As Li was scrolling through his now connect helmet, his enhanced hearing caught something unexpected. Carley was crying, silently at that. The Spartan presumed that she gave the appearance that she was strong. Albeit, Li knew that after all the adrenaline rush was over and you start to calm down, everything starts to crash down upon you. He had seen it numerous times on the battlefield. It affected everyone, from highly trained soldiers to regular civilians. This was nothing new.

Surprisingly, Li recognised that Lilly was comforting Carley. Going out of your way to comfort someone you know little about. It seemed that no matter what reality you are from when a life threatening or more precisely an extinction level event occurs people do things to stay together, to stay strong, to lend a helping hand. Li couldn't help but think about when the Human-Covenant war first broke out. Humanity, splintered at the time, immediately banded together to fight this new foe. Old hatreds were cast aside to show their enemy, that our right to live was not to be denied.

Li brought his attention back to hearing the conversation. The Spartan presumption of Lilly was correct. She was indeed an officer in the Air Force. A captain to be precise. His mind calculated her leadership. The possibility of her taking charge, while not a bad one, was not acceptable either. The bias of having a loved one might have overshadowed her need for the others, eventually leading friction within the group.

The possibility of her caring more for her father might have outweighed the need of the rest of the group. While Li did not doubt Lilly's ability to lead, having a loved one always complicate situations. The Spartan commando lets out a frustrated sigh. It would seem that he would have to step up if Lilly oversteps her bounds.

Now they were talking about him. Even if they whisper or quiet their voices, these ears hear all. Their presumption of him being a regular human soldier was laughable albeit expected. They did not know him nor did not know what he has gone through. He needed to keep it that way. The secrecy of his origins was to be kept to himself only. If they were to find out then it would lead to… disastrous effects. If his lifelong training has anything to say about all of this, precaution was always key. So, their precaution was understandable.

Thinking about his past made Li's mind wonder what his brothers and sisters were up too. There were few of them now. A very small band barely a company left. Most of them died during the invasion of Reach, their adoptive home. Li remember one by one, no matter how many they killed, his family fell at the hands of the Covenant. In the end, it didn't make an ounce of difference. Reach fell and with it, their childhood. Li started to question, whether if what remained of his family were alright. If mum… she never did like that term, Doctor Halsey -he corrected himself- and rest of them made it out okay.

Realisation struck him. Li never considered how tired he was. Not physically, but overall. While the war raged on, he and the other Spartans never had time to catch their breath; to able to sit down and think. After every mission, after every battle, after every sacrifice, they were immediately shoved into cryo until need once more. Li halted his train of thought. No, he shouldn't be tired. He… no, the Spartans were humanity's last and final line of defense. What one Spartan could do was that of the entire regiment. They were to be war machines, breed for nothing but combat and battle. So, no he should not be tired because he still had a job to do. Li finally determined what his new mission was, he must return home and finished the fight. The only question was how?

The Spartan's attention was snapped back to reality. Lilly, at long last, had the audacity to confront him. Li smirked a bit, he already knew how this little confrontation was going to play out.

She stopped in front of him, eyeing him up. Li was certain she was nervous, but trying not to show it. He caught the shiver that escaped her body. Good, she needed to know her overconfidence is not a good trait to have. She needed to learn how to be intimidated and her limits. This was not about you or your father anymore. It's about the survivability of not only yourself, but to those around you.

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She choked. Heavy silence erupted around them. Li mentally shook his head, it seemed he must initiate first then. "Is there something you require, ma'am?"

At first, she said nothing. Li patiently waited. What is a Spartan without his patience? He needed to know if she can take charge, not for him, but for the rest of them.

After a while, Lilly responded, "I was wondering what you did before all of this?" Li sensed her discomfort. The way she rubbed her right arm. The confidence from earlier all gone.

"Care to elaborate on that?" He tested.

Lilly facial expression changed to one of discomfort to stern. Trying to hide, are you? Li thought. "I was in the Air Force before all of this. I was an officer, a Captain." Before she could finish, Li interrupted her.

"I know all of this. You were a Captain of a nearby Air Force base. You received a few days off, which you decided to spend with your father before all of this occurred. From there you hit one of the undead. Believing that you hit an alive person, you checked if he was ok. However, you nearly died by the hands of those…" he paused for the proper description, "walkers. Realising how dangerous the situation had become. You rushed to save your father. However, your car broke down and Glenn saved your family. You thought this place was safe. That it might have the necessary supplies to survive this until it blows over. But you did not take into account that others might have the same belief. So you arrive here with barely enough supplies nor weapons to defend yourself. Then another group arrives with firearms, who can easily take this place from you with no resistance." Li paused for everything he said to sink in. He needed to know if Lilly had the appropriate mindset lead, to put the needs of the group over hers or her father's.

Lilly had a shocked expression on her face which was quickly replaced with a determined glare. Li judged that she was not expecting any of this. "To save both our time, which I believe will be a luxury for the days to come, I will rephrase my question. What is it that YOU demand of me?" The Spartan paused before adding, "Ma'am."

Lilly stopped, the early glare gone replace with a blank expression. She wasn't expecting to get this far in all actuality. She then realized that he already assessed the situation to the smallest detail, Lilly couldn't help but be in awe at how he predicted the outcome. She broke off that train of thought, no, he needed to know who's in charge. Just because he was a fucking giant and built like goddamn tank didn't mean he could push her around.

"Alright if that's how you want to play it, then fine by me. You are an unknown, a variable unaccounted for. I don't know if I can entrust my life, or my father's, or anyone for that matter. And from my experience unknowns aren't always a good thing." Lilly was on her tip toes shoving her finger at Sierra chest plate.

"If that were the case then, so is Carley, Doug, or even Glenn." He countered. "Though that is not the case, is it? You already know they would not cause an issue. You judge them by how they reacted towards all of this. You assessed them by what you gathered. No, I believe you are afraid. You try not to show it, Lillian. But indeed you are afraid. You are afraid like the rest of them, so you turn to what you rely on something you are so used too. You know what that is?" Li loomed over her, bringing his head closer to hers. Lilly shook her head before she even caught herself doing it. All of sudden, she felt so small. "Your authority. Your rank that gave you the respect, power, and authority. You cherished it. You reveled in it. Now it's all gone. You are scared that you're nothing without it. You loathe the very idea of someone else taking what you believe is rightfully yours. Lillian, you may not realise or maybe deep down you do but do not admit it, but that is why you loathe me so very much." The Spartan's voice never rose, but stayed ever so calm. His accent made it smoother than it should have.

Lilly, stepped back, completely stunned by Sierra's accusations. She tried to deny it, except she couldn't. He was right. This unknown foreign soldier was able to not only accurately read her, but also learn of her deepest insecurities.

Nevertheless, Lilly would not flatter, she was damned to be one-upped by some stinking Brit. She gave him a glare and folded her arms. "Be that as it may, what right do you have that I don't to lead these people?" She felt herself getting angrier, maybe it was to cover how small she felt compared to Sierra. "How can I know that you can even be trusted? I know the rest of them are civilians, so they won't turn their backs on someone who they see as a leader. Especially, at times like this." Lilly was too caught up with herself to notice how she was moving closer to the super soldier while jabbing her finger at his chest piece. She also failed to notice her rising voice was attracting the rest of the group's attention. She refused to give any of them a thought besides the man in front of her. To enraged of this ordeal.

"If you think I would endanger my father, no these lives then think again, soldier." Lilly's officer tone was slowly creeping up, "I rather die than let the lives these people place on me. These people deserve someone who can take charge and knows what needs to be done. So, I'd be damn if you think you can try anything." Her voice softened a bit. "Even if you are right about what you said earlier, I will still have to look out for these people. Whether I like it or not. People need someone to look to for hope and need to know it's going to be alright. I have a duty to this group." She exhaled deeply. "So you can shove that bullshit up your fucking ass for all I care." Lilly did not realize how worked up she got, revealing her Officer voice/persona. She felt everyone's eyes on her.

Feeling slightly embarrassed, she let out a fake cough, "Nothing to see here guys. Just get back to whatever you were doing before." Lilly's cheeks started to heat. Damn that stupid Brit for riling her up like that. When everyone went back to what they were doing. She turned her attention back to the British soldier.

"While I applaud your bravado, Lillian, you do not need to impress me. What you need to do is keep those under your charge alive. I see now that they might be in capable hands." Li admitted. However, when she brought out the commanding officer tone, that all COs has, he almost saluted, as if her tone was the key word. "But you need not worry about me. I assure you that. I give you my word that I will not betray this group, Ma'am."

"Good," she could not help but blush a little from his earlier praise. "I uhh am glad we are on the same page."

Li gave her a ghost of a smile. It seemed that Captain Lillian might have been capable, but only time could tell. Li caught Carley still staring at him, concern lacing those chocolate orbs of hers. He gave her a nod that indicated everything was alright. In return, she gave him an apologetic smile. It would seem that Carley believed it was her fault. Lilly came towards his way. He'd have to rectify those thoughts out of her later.

"Since we are on the same page can you tell me about yourself at least?" She asked, attempting to learn the origins of the mysterious soldier.

Li sighed, why did everyone want to know where he was from?

"I apologise, but I cannot discern that information, Ma'am." Lilly lowered her eyes in regret, which Li did not understand why.

"Then can you tell me what the UNSC stands for?"

The Spartan momentarily came to a halt. How in the bloody hell did this sodding officer figure those acronyms out? He thought. The paused lasted longer than it should, when Li was about to come out with an explanation, Lilly beat him to it.

"Are you part of the United Nation Security Council? Does that mean you are a UN Peace Keeper?"

Li couldn't help but smile at his luck. Was this how John felt? No John would deny it saying it was just a coincidence. "Yes, Ma'am." He responded. "But how did you come to that conclusion, Ma'am?"

"Oh, I notice the letters UNSC on the top of your chest plate." Li looked down. Well, you look at that, it was there. How he did not notice it till now was beyond him. Maybe he was used to it; the words UNSC was splattered everywhere on all UNSC forces armour. It even was on the MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armour. "If you were part of the Peace Crop, where're your blue stripes? You know I have worked along side with the UNPK before and I have never seen you guys wear this type of high tech armor before." Her eyes roamed the armor with envy. "You guys usually have those big blue helmets or blue berets, but nothing like this."

The Spartan knew that answering her questions would put him in the corner, yet he needed to alleviate the suspicion. "I was part of the British Special Forces before I was assigned to the UNSC. My numerous unique talents caught the attention of the... right people." Li let the silent flow for a bit of dramatism. "From there, I was able to impress a certain director and get placed into a special programme. After my training was complete, they gave me a high tech armour that nobody could wear but us." The super soldier noticed the few subtle hints he gave out, but knew she would never understand it.

Lilly was mulling over what Sierra had said. Whatever conclusion she had in her head was out of the Spartan's hands, but it should have relieved the paranoia she had. "So let me get this straight. You were part of the UK Special Forces, which I assume is the SAS. But due to your capabilities, you got reassign to the UNPK then to some secretive UNSC Special Forces thing? Am I getting this right? What was even your rank?"

"Petty Officer Second Class," Li answered.

"OK so not SAS but SBS." Li caught the small doubt in her eyes. "You know I never met anyone in the Special Boat Service or any UK Special Forces at that matter."

Li knew what to say to relieve the lingering doubt within her. "If you do not believe me, Captain, then can you please explain everything I am wearing? Surely you must understand that this is far from the grasp of any normal country military can create." And to put the icing on the bloody cake. Li pulled out his dog tags. He gave her a quick glance before she caught anything in too much detail and quickly put it back underneath his armour.

The super soldier instantly noted the alleviation of doubt on her face. "I guess you're right. Just kinda hard to imagine that the UNSC was hiding something this big, you know?" Lilly scratched the back of her head in contemplation.

"Now, Ma'am, if I have relieved your curiosity, I would incline to perform a diagnostic on how secure this place is." For some bizarre reason, Lilly saluted. Catching her mistake, she was about to pull away, but Sierra returned the gesture. After that, Sierra walked away to examine the complex.

She was so caught up at observing the Spartan that she didn't realise her father was behind her. "What was all that about?" Lilly jumped at her father's question.

"Dad! Don't creep up on me like that!" She quietly scolded her father.

"Sorry, honey, but you should pay attention more to your surroundings." Her father scolded back.

"Yeah, I know." She grumbled underneath her breath.

Larry look at his daughter with concerned eyes. "You still haven't answered my question, Lilly."

Lilly brought her attention back to her dad, "Oh that was nothing… we were just getting to know each other. Yeah, that's all." She gave a reassuring smile. "Don't worry dad."

Larry knew something was up and it led to that tall fucker over there examining the windows. He didn't like this feeling one bit. "I don't trust him." He said bluntly.

"Uhh, what dad?"

"What did I just say about being distracted?! I am surprised that you made it to the rank of Captain with your attention level. How easily distracted you are." Larry harshly scolded his daughter.

Lilly returned it with a nervous smile. "Sorry, dad. I'm just tired is all." She tried again to reassure her father. "What did you say again?"

Larry, however, wasn't easily convinced. He knew that fucker did something and he needed to get to the bottom of it. "I said that I don't trust that tall fucker over there." He repeated in a much harsher tone, turning his attention to the super soldier.

"Dad!" Lilly placing her hands on her hips. Larry returned her gaze. "Look I get it. These people are new and you might not trust them yet. But I talked to them. They are fine, plus they have guns they can protect us. So please, Dad give 'em a chance." Lilly pleaded to her father, but Larry wasn't all that convinced. However, he just nodded to ease his daughter's stress.

Lilly smiled at her father, "Good. Anyways I am going to talk Doug. Just please don't do anything too drastic." Larry watched his daughter walk, but transferred his attention back to the Spartan, glaring daggers at him. Expecting those very daggers to pierce the soldier.

I'll get to the bottom of this, he thought, I always do.

Li heard everything. The old soldier did not trust him. But it didn't make a difference in the end. He removed the curiosity of the supposed leader and that was all he needed. Rest will come along in due time. Li touched the windows slowly examining every little detail. No, this will not do. He needed to find something to barricade the windows. Bloody hell, one of the windows closest to the door was broken.

He was surprised that the walkers had not come through yet. Li thought about the term. Walkers. It seemed fitting, slow and dead, one was easy to kill, but a group of them would cause trouble. Well at least for a normal person that is, and Li was many things but normal was not one of them.

"Hey." Carley gently stood beside him. Li gave a nod to acknowledge her presence. "So, what was all that about?" Carley continued.

More questions, Li thought. It would seem that everyone had a sodding question for their residential super soldier. "Nothing you need to concern yourself about." Li quickly shut down any further interrogation from the reporter. He quickly paced through all the windows and Carley, to Li's further annoyance, followed him. "Is there something I could help you with Miss Vigil?"

Carley could not help but wince at Sierra's tone. It was not harsh by any means, but it was just plain, lacking any emotion to it. She had thought he would at least be annoyed, she sure would have, but he wasn't. "I... uh was just umm curious with what you were doing was all." She stammered.

"I am currently assessing how secure the perimeter is. And to my utter disappointment, this place is not secure at all." Sierra declared.

"Oh really? Why's that?" Carley already guessed the answer, but this was probably the only way she could keep him talking. She couldn't help it, she just wanted to know more about him. The way he held himself, it felt comforting. Being near him felt secure, like everything was going to be alright, as if there was still hope, that one could believe there was hope. But there was also something else, a feeling that he was holding the world on his shoulders. His entire presence felt hopeful, but also saddening in some way.

"Is there something on my visor Miss Vigil?" He said, removing her from her thoughts. "You have been staring at my visor, so I had assumed that there must be something stuck on my visor."

Was she staring? Ah crap, now he'd probably think she was weird or something. She guessed that explained her neck aching. She rubbed the back of her neck to ease the starting pain. She never realized how tall he was, how you had to till your head all the way back to keep eye contact or eye to visor contact. Maybe it was just her petite frame. "Miss Vigil, you are doing it again."

Carley quickly snapped out of her thoughts, "Oh there's nothing on your visor. I- ahh was just wondering why you always wear your helmet. Since you know, we are safe for the moment." Carley couldn't believe she just gave him such a lame excuse. She mentally cursed at herself.

"Key word being the moment, Miss Vigil..."

"Don't call me that." She interrupted.

"Call you what, Miss Vigil?" Sierra inquired.

"All that Miss Vigil stuff. It sounds way too... proper. Just call me Carley. Besides, Miss Vigil is my mother and there is one thing I am and that is not my mother."

"Very well." The Spartan brought his attention back to the last window. "As I was saying earlier before I was interrupted." Carley blushed at his accusation. "The key word being moment. With what I concluded from the examination of this store, this place can be breached at any given moment. If you look around we have two broken windows: one near the door and the other one right here." Li directed to all the windows. "Not only that, loud noises attract the walkers. Add to the fact that there are barely enough supplies here, all the medicine is locked up. If we force our way through, the alarm would go off causing them to swarm this place. My presumption is that we should not stay here long. It is also good to stay alerted. Be cautious of anything." He stated.

"What are walkers?" she asked, innocently.

"That is what I decided to call them. We cannot just continue to use the word "them" for so long. It would be preposterous. They are slow and drag around, they cannot run, they can be taken down easily one at a time, of course, a group of them would cause trouble. So hence the term Walkers." Sierra explain.

"Then how do you know they are attracted by noise?" She continued to question the soldier.

"Earlier you shot one in order to save Doug. In doing so you inadvertently altered the walkers of our presence. Not only that, you brought a huge group upon us. I barely had enough time to barricade the door so they would not get in."

Carley was amazed at Sierra's observations. Even the name was befitting. She smiled at his intellect. She did not know what Lilly thought of him and the indication from earlier, it was probably negative. Nevertheless, having Sierra here was a good idea. What right had Lilly to presume he was trustworthy or not?

"Is there something else you require, Carley? Or would you rather we play twenty questions all day?" Carley was once again snapped out of her deep thinking by Sierra's voice. It frustrated her how quickly she got distracted, but she could not help it; all her thoughts were about this mysterious soldier.

"Oh, nothing. Just...Maybe you would like some help?" Carley noticed how fast he became silent. She panicked, she had hoped he was mulling it over. The silence felt long and unpleasant.

"Very well. However, I request that you do not bombard me with countless questions. This is for our safety." Sierra finished and started walking towards the door opposite from the entrance. Carley didn't realize she was holding her breath for so long. She finally exhaled and quickly chased after him.

As they got near the door, there was a sign that said, "Authorized Employees Only." Below it was another note, "Alive Inside." Li grabbed the door handle, but it was locked.

"It's locked. When we first got here, we tried getting through there to get the medicine but…" It was the older gentlemen, Larry.

"The note said 'Alive Inside'; have you tried to talk to the other side?" Carley question the man. Larry glanced at her, debating whether to tell her or not.

"We tried," was all he said.

"How about looking for a key?" This time it was Sierra who questioned him.

The older gentlemen gave one of the nastiest glares imaginable. Larry was tall- probably little over six feet in height- but it paled in comparison to Li. To Larry, Li was the giant and not him.

Larry still had that glare on his face. Carley could feel the tension in the air. What was his problem? Carley thought. She was about to tell him off, but Larry beat her to it.

"No, we didn't. If you haven't noticed the goddamn apocalypse was happening." Larry sneered.

Despite how threatening Larry seemed, Li did not waver. Instead, he countered Larry's ill arguments. "All the more reason too. If an apocalyptic event occurred, you should have gathered as many supplies to survive. If the door is locked and people behind are not answering, either they are dead, or fled the area. Finding the key would be detrimental. Isn't that right Carley?" He completely ignored Carley's discomfort.

"Ahh yes, it would." Larry returned the same glare Sierra received to her. She flinched back at the intensity of it. However, she felt a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Carley realized it was from Sierra. For whatever reason, she smiled at that. She found that it gave her courage to stand her ground. She returned her attention back to Larry and gave him a stern look.

But for whatever reason, the old man was not backing off. He continued to stare at them, ignoring the fact he was losing. The stubborn old fool was what crossed Carley's mind.

"If you would excuse us now, Larry. It would seem that while you just glare at us expecting something miraculous to happen, Carley and I should search for the key to this door." Sierra said, pushing past Larry.

As they searched Li could hear Larry cursing at them with such ferocity.

Li chuckled at that. He knew that would rise the old fool. But the man needed to know that glaring at them would do nothing. Especially his ill-informed excuses being preposterous. Being distracted could lead to a disaster.

"What's his problem? We were just trying to help and he throws a stupid tantrum." Carley fumed in frustration.

"Do not pay him any mind. He wants to get a rise from us." Li pointed near the bathroom. "You should search there. I'll search by the snack and frozen food area."

"You got it chief."

Li could not help, but slightly smile at that nickname. It reminded him of what his family had called John. That squad leader, being the one to lead all his Spartan brothers and sisters. If John wanted them all to storm the very gates of hell, they would without question. This wasn't blind devotion, no, it was because they knew John. They knew he always had a plan; some form of strategy. He was the best of them all. A true leader to aspire to. His small smile faded at the thought of his family. He missed them dearly.

Li reached the frozen snack area. From the looks of it, it was also stripped clean. He moved behind the counter, searching for the key. Opening the bottom cabinets, looking for anything resembling a key. His thoughts started to drift back to his family. While his mind centred elsewhere his body went on autopilot for the key. Li wondered what would John do in a situation like this? Or maybe… Daisy? He immediately shut that idea down. No, he shouldn't be thinking about her at this time. She chose to go in alone, it was not his fault. She was gone and he was not. Or he kept telling himself that.

Li's hands felt something familiar at the far end of the cabinet. Reaching for it, he realised it was a key. Possibly to the door? He just had to find out. On the corner of his eye, he spotted Carley coming towards him.

"Sorry, but no luck." She said, disappointingly.

"Don't worry, I do believe this might be what we were looking for." He showed her the key.

Carley's eyes widened in surprise. She was thinking that the key might have become a fool's gambit. And yet again the soldier surprised her.

They made their way to the locked door. Li unlocked the door with the now found key. The anticipation was slowly killing her. Luckily Carley had brought her Glock 19 with her. If anything were to be thrown at her, she would be ready.

However, Sierra had other ideas. "I imagine this is where your services come to an end, Carley."

Carley blinked, did he really just say that? "You can't be serious?! You don't know what the hell might be in there." In no way in hell was she getting pushed aside. Not like last time, Carley secretly added in her head. "You'll need the backup, so stop being stubborn, Sierra." She glared at him. No way was she letting him go in alone.

Li laud her for efforts, the woman had spirit and courage to try to stare down a Spartan. He let out a small inaudible chuckle to himself. "Carley, you must understand that same reason can be said to you as well. The people who sought refuge in there might be dead, alive, or even turned. If that comes to fruition, we don't know how many are in there." Li straightened his gaze at her. "I cannot be responsible for you when we are in there."

Carley narrowed her glare at his visor, she thought about why he was being so stubborn and how he should just let her go with him and contemplated why he was so damn tall. "Sierra, you helped me several times. You didn't even know me. You could've easily run and sought shelter on your own without me." She lowered her gaze to the floor, suddenly feeling very small. "But you didn't. You stood tall and gave me a reaching hand." She brought back her determined glare at him. Even if it did pain her neck. "Let me return the favor."

The Spartan contemplated what she had said; mulling it over if this was a right choice to be made. What felt like an eternity of silence, he finally responded, "Very well Carley. It seems that nothing would change your mind so I won't waste the effort. However, we do this my way." He brought his hand up. "Give me your gun."

"Wait why? I'll need it to help you!" She exclaimed.

"Your gun is too loud. Noise attracts them remember? And I rather not have this place swarming with walkers because of a mistake."

Carley couldn't help but agree with his reasoning, but it didn't mean she had to like it. Also, how was she supposed to back him up without her gun? She always felt safer with it. It was a gift from her brother.

Li, sensing her reluctance, tried to ease her doubt, "Do not worry, I am not going to take it away from you and let you be in danger." He took out his M6S and handed it to her. "Use this. In exchange for your gun, I will let you borrow mine. It has a built in suppressor. When this is over we can return our guns back to each other."

Carley hesitantly accepted his offer. "What about you?" She inquired.

"Do not worry about me, Carley." He reassured. He then pulled out his combat knife and slowly open the door.

When they got inside, they already notice two dead corpses. Li signaled her to halt., which she did reluctantly. The super soldier slowly reached the two dead old people. Upon doing so they immediately sprung to life as walkers. They instantly tried to grab onto Sierra.

Carley was ready to shoot at them until Li slammed his knife into their side of their heads, blood splattering on his armor.

"It would seem Larry was indeed right. They were dead for quite awhile." He wiped the blood off his knife and put it back to its helm.

Li examined the now dead walkers, checking on how the infection is spread. He noticed that the older male had bandaged arm. He removed it and recognised a huge bite mark. He then checked the female and it too had a similar mark. The Spartan deduced that the infection was somehow spread through a bite.

"What are you doing?"

"I am trying to figure how these two ended up as walkers. If my general understanding of diseases is correct, there must be a way the infection might spread." He motioned her to come closer. "Here the two victims both have similar severe bite marks. Judging from the markings, they were not from any animals. The structure suggests human teeth." He pointed to the bite marks. "If the infection is spread from bite marks then that explains some questions, but not all."

Carley stared at the old dead couple. She thought about how they tried to treat their injuries, hoping they would make it out alright, only for them to turn. That made her think about her parents. The unwanted question started to pop in her head, were they ok? Did they survive or did they turn into one of them? Last she heard from her parents were that they were traveling to Japan to visit her brother's deployment.

Li recognised her sorrowful expression, but decided to not to comment on it. "I will dispose of the bodies while you check if there is anything useful in here or try to open the door to the pharmacy."

"Don't you need help carrying the bodies?" Her voice was slightly shaken from her earlier thoughts.

Instead of responding, however, he casually lifted both corpses like it was an everyday occurrence and walked out the back door to the alleyway.

Carley had widened her eyes. She watched how easily he carried the two grown adults out the exit. She then returned her attention back to finding anything useful. She searched through various cabinets and cupboards. After a few good minutes, she cursed at her luck, she barely found anything. All she found was a mostly empty first aid kit, with only a few bandages and gauze pads. The room seemed empty just like the last. Carley kicked the desk in frustration, but in doing so a radio dropped.

"A radio!" She exclaimed happily, quickly picking it up. Maybe there was hope after all. With this, they can hear what is happening everywhere else…if they're people still out there. Carley was too caught up in her own excitement that she didn't notice Li coming in.

"Found something, did you?"

Carley was startled and nearly dropped her radio. "Jesus, Sierra! Give me a heads up, would ya? I almost dropped the radio."

Sierra stood there like any stoic Spartan would. "My apologies. It was not my intention to startle you."

Carley diverted her eyes to the radio, then back to Sierra. She never understood how a 7-foot tall soldier could be so silent. She glanced back at the radio. Also, how strange he talked, beside his accent of course, but how formal he always was.

Li took out the Glock 19 from his magnetic thigh plate. "I do believe this is yours." He said, handing it back to her.

Retrieving her gun, she returned his as well. They exchanged nods before heading back to the group.

When they returned, Lilly was the first one to talk to them. "You find anything?" Her voice lance with a hint of authority.

"We found the people who locked themselves up." The reporter replied.

"Really? What happened?"

"They were dead and already turned, Ma'am." Li saw concern in Lilly's eyes and he quickly assured her the problem was fixed. "But we took care of it." There wasn't a hint of emotion in his words, as if killing was no big deal.

"Good job, Sierra." Li acknowledged her with a nod. "Did you find anything else or a way into the Pharmacy?"

"Sadly no. If we forced our way in, the alarm would have rung and by doing so, this whole store would be overrun." Sierra replied.

Lilly once again had concerned written all over her face, "Damn it." she cursed.

"But I did find this radio..." Carley showed her.

"Carley, care to explain to me how a radio will help us?" Lilly said with irritation.

"One, it would let us know if there are people out there. Two, the government would have responded to such pandemic by now. They are probably giving us instructions on what to do. Three, it might remove the tension in here, like to know we aren't the only ones out here." Carley countered, her voice laced with a matter-of-fact attitude.

Lilly had an annoyed look on her face. Before she could retort, Sierra step in between them.

"I imagine everyone is tired by now. It has been a long day for all of us. I think it would be best if we all should rest up. We can discuss everything in the morning. It's 0130 and we need our strength for tomorrow. I will take watch tonight." He sternly voiced.

Lilly was about to object, but was cut off again, "Lillian you- no everyone right now requires rest. It has been a long day for everyone. And I do not mind taking the first watch."

"I can help too," Carley quickly added.

"No, it is fine. I can handle this. Alone." He emphasis on 'alone'. "Just rest up. I can take care of this." He assured them.

The two brunettes looked at each other, realizing their soldier had made up his mind and nothing would change it. In the end, they walked to their respective corners.

Li watched the two girls walk away. Times like this he wished he was with his brothers and sisters. They were a lot easier to deal with. He then wondered what John would do in this situation. He was the best of them. Li let out a tired sigh and walked to one of the broken windows, guarding the store vigilantly.

* * *

Well, that is all folks! I do hope you enjoy this chapter. Please review it means a lot. oh as well as follow and favorite. Till next time.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey everyone! I know it's been awhile since I last updated and I do apologize for that. Things got really busy in my life. And I wanted to thank my new Beta Reader lemontongues!

Also, I have come to an impasse; I have discovered that the ODST armor had an upgrade since the Great War. Newer armor integrated SOLDIER-class Mjolnir and Semi-Powered Infiltration technology into their suits. So my question to you all is that should I include these advances or just have Li keep the original ODST armor?

Anyways I have taken enough of your time, enjoy the latest chapter!

* * *

The sunlight shone on Larry's face as he woke from his slumber. It was morning or early noon; he couldn't tell due to the windows being boarded. He paused. Boarded up? That can't be right, he thought. Before he fell asleep the windows hadn't been sealed like they were right now.

He looked around and spotted their resident soldier, exactly as he was before he fell asleep. There was no way he could have boarded up the windows without making any noise. Something wasn't right here. Larry decided to get to the bottom of it, and he knew just the guy to talk to. Getting up, he made his way to the tall soldier.

"Did you board up these windows?" Larry said, getting straight to the point. The man in question said nothing, only responding with a nod. While the giant soldier meant no ill will to the older man, he took it the wrong way.

"Hey!" He yelled. "When someone is asking you a question, you answer back. It's common courtesy. Didn't your mama ever teach you any manners?" Larry questioned angrily.

Sierra faced Larry, "Sir, would you mind keeping your voice down?" He politely asked. "You'll attract unwanted attention and wake the others."

Larry was stunned; no one had given him such disrespect before. In outrage, he yelled, "How dare you!" He approached the soldier dangerously, blinded by his quick anger. "You do not use that fucking attitude with me!"

As Larry continued to scream at the Spartan, he did not notice that the others were starting to wake up due to his yelling.

The first one to confront the two arguing soldiers was Lilly. She approached them with tiredness. "Dad? Sierra? What are you two arguing about?" she asked, scrubbing at her eyes sleepily.

"This asshole had the damn nerve to give me attitude when all I did was ask a question," Larry exclaimed, jabbing his finger at the soldier's breastplate.

Lilly mentally rolled her eyes. She knew her dad was eventually going to confront Sierra, but she had hoped maybe that he would have made a friendlier approach. With slight annoyance on her face, she looked at the taller soldier for an explanation.

"Ma'am, that is untrue," Sierra said, as plain as ever. He didn't even seem annoyed by the whole ordeal. "He asked if I boarded up these windows. I answered with a nod. He, however, misinterpreted the gesture and assumed I did not acknowledge him," the super soldier explained. "From there, he started voicing his opinion in a loud manner. I advised him to lower his voice, due to the danger of it; he refused, but continued to act like a child, and here we are."

* * *

Lilly blinked, gawking at him. She still wasn't used to Sierra being so herself out of her stupor, she was about to respond when her father interrupted her. "Why you fucking freak!" He shouted, "You think just because you have a fucking gun, you can just push us around like that?!" Larry stepped forward and tried to grab Sierra, but Lilly stopped him.

"Dad, please! Stop this! Remember your heart!" Lilly tried to reason with her father, but to no avail.

Pushing his daughter aside, Larry continued on. "You are just some damn punk with a gun," Larry reiterated, completely ignoring his daughter's pleas.

Soon, everyone from the group started to wake up from the wailing and crowded around the three servicemen. Glenn, being the first reach the wailing group asked, "What's going on?

Larry, still seething with fury, burst out, "Oh, I'll tell you what's going on, alright! This bastard thinks just 'cause he has a fucking gun, he can just push everyone around!"

"Bullshit!" Someone yelled back. Everyone looked around, and found the outburst had come from Carley. "That's bullshit and you know it!" She shouted. "Ever since we got here you've been nothing but an asshole! While Sierra was just trying to help, you did nothing but get in the way!" Carley stepped closer to Larry in a challenging manner. "I bet you're only acting this way because you feel you aren't the big guy anymore. That's why you're acting so childish." She said all matter in factly.

Larry eyed her dangerously. "Oh, I'm the asshole?" But before he could continue, Sierra, finally stepped in.

"Enough." The group quieted at Sierra's stern tone. "This fighting will get us nowhere. It is pointless and will drive us apart." He turned his attention to Larry and Carley. "You two, keep your voices down. The louder you are, the more you will attract the walkers." Before Li opened his mouth to give his two cents, but was cut off by a loud moan from outside. Instantly, the survivors stopped bickering amongst themselves and hid behind the counters, all except for the Spartan. He peeked between the cracks of the boarded-up windows; he saw a small amount of undead crowding near the store.

"D-Do you think that if we're quiet enough, they'll go away?" Glenn asked in a nervous whisper.

No one answered in fear of Glenn being wrong. When the moaning grew louder and closer, Li knew he had to do something. Making up his mind, Li slowly headed towards the front door, but was halted by Lilly grabbing his arm. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she questioned in a hushed whisper.

"The walkers are here because of the argument earlier." Gesturing at the door, Li said, "I'm going to distract them away from here, so they won't draw more."

"What?!" Lilly said a bit too loudly, getting a stern look from the others. She ignored them. "That's crazy. You'll get surrounded! Do you have a death wish?" She continued more quietly.

Li smirked a bit; it was nice to see CO care about their subordinates. Nevertheless, he still had a job to do. "Don't worry, Ma'am. I have experience in situations like this." He nodded his head to the others. "Just keep them safe."

Though Lilly was grateful for his concern for the rest, she didn't feel reassured whatsoever. Instead, it increased her worry. Lilly had heard similar words before, and they had never preceded a happy ending. "Sierra, wait. I can't in good conscience let you do this." Her eyes were pleading. "I know I said that I'd look out for this group." She tightened her hold on his arm. "That includes you, too. You're part of this group like the rest of us. I can't let you get yourself get killed." Lilly stared deep into his cobalt vizor, hoping he would change his mind.

The Spartan sighed. He was glad that Lilly was worried about the group, and under different circumstances, he would have applauded her efforts. Still, it was something he had to do; if not, the walkers would swarm the place."Ma'am, I understand your concerns, but I'll be alright." Before she could even retort, the soldier was already on his way.

She reached out, trying to stop him, but it was already too late. He was at the front door. Lilly stared at him hoping to god he wouldn't walk out that front door. He was outside before she couldn't even react. For a tall muscular man, Sierra was oddly fast. When she returned to the group, they gave her look of confusion. She was about to inform them of the soldier's plan, but Carley spoke up first.

"Where's Sierra going? Why is he heading out straight to the walkers?" Carley asked, her voice full of dread.

Lilly suddenly felt exhausted; she couldn't tell if it was from the lack of sleep or the mess they were in. "Sierra said that due to all the noise we were making," she couldn't help but glare at her dad, which he returned with a grunt, "we attracted a number of walkers. So, Sierra went out to get rid of them."

Everyone had a look of fear on their faces. "How could you just let him do that?!" Carley sounded disbelieving at Lilly's statement.

"I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't budge." Lilly tried to explain. How the hell was she supposed to stop a seven-foot-tall guy who was built like a damn tank?

In a meek voice, Carley said in return, "You could have done something,"

Lilly was starting to get irritated by Carley's pestering. "I tried, Carley. But he just wouldn't listen." She couldn't understand what Carley's deal was. The man made his decision. Yes, it was stupid, and she had tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen. Did she want him to go out there? Hell no. Why couldn't Carley just understand that?

However, her thoughts were disrupted by Glenn. "Umm, guys? You might want to check this out." He said in a shocked tone.

Everyone crowded by the windows near the windows to see what made Glenn sound so disturbed. When they glanced outside, they understood immediately. What they saw, they couldn't fathom. It looked like more than a dozen walkers surrounding the giant soldier, but that wasn't what shocked them; it was the sight of Sierra, disappearing and reappearing, killing the walkers with ease.

* * *

Li closed the door behind him and saw over a dozen undead making their way towards the store, attracting more of their kind along the way. The Spartan breathed a sigh of relief; though none of his family would ever admit to it, Spartans always felt more comfortable in combat.

He had brought his suppressed SMG, but decided against it. He only had limited amount of ammo, and what he had, he needed to conserve. The Spartan-II Commando pulled out his combat knife and counted: thirteen walkers and rising. Good, he could finish this quickly. To be on the safe side since he didn't have his MJOLNIR, he decided to go into Spartan time.

As he made his way towards the large crowd of undead, Li inhaled and everything started to slow down; he was entering Spartan Time.

The first walker that came close he kicked straight in the chest, and the cracking of bone echoed throughout the street. He then slammed his knife into the nearest one. Li phased in and out of Spartan time; he moved instantly from one spot to the next, his movements marked only by the sound of undead bodies slumping to the ground.

Breathe in, grab, slam, stab, rip, sidestep, breathe out, and repeat. Those were the movements Li made. Bodies continue to fall, missing various limbs; some had no arms, while others had their entire heads ripped off. Blood slowly started to cover the street, as more and more walkers returned to their deaths.

Finally, Li threw his knife directly at a skull of the last far-off Walker, killing it immediately. Time slowly went back to normal for the Spartan, as he was only holding up a head of a walker with his spinal cord still attached. The head hissed at the super soldier, and he promptly dropped the head and caved it in with his boot. Li, becoming aware of his surroundings again, saw the pile of previously undead bodies around him. Walking to where he threw his knife, he plucked it from the head of the dead walker, wiped the blood off, and put it back in his helm. As he made his way back to the store, he noticed the eyes of his companions. Shaking his head, the soldier knew he had some explaining to do.

* * *

Glenn watched as the man, if you could even call him that, walked back to them. He was carefully avoiding the now-deceased walkers. The more Glenn stared at Sierra, the more he realized that the way he walked seemed unnatural, almost like he was human but a machine at the same time. He threw that thought out his head; that's impossible, he thought. There's no way that's possible. But he did have other thoughts, questions he was sure that the others had as well. It was what they had witnessed: something like that should not be possible.

As the soldier got closer to the door, anxiety started to build within him. Slowly, he started to panic; he didn't know if he should run away or ask him how he had done that. Maybe neither, and pretend nothing occurred outside.

He heard the door open, and Sierra slowly walked in. He could hear his heart beat faster than before. The decision was now.

The giant was there, looking, awaiting a response. No one moved. Everyone seemed to be on pause, just gaping at him. The man moved forward, but before he could say anything, Glenn beat him to the punch.

"Dude! That was awesome!"

The rest of the group flinched at Glenn's statement. The sudden outburst caught all of them by surprise. They had expected that the silence would have continued on, but, Glenn had other ideas. "How did you do that? Like one minute you there, and the next you weren't."

Now everyone's attention was back on the Spartan. He did nothing, and again, the room was covered in eerie silence. Glenn mentally cursed himself; he had thought that if he acted like nothing had happened or showed appreciation, Sierra might have an easier time to try to explain himself.

After what felt like an eternity, the soldier finally spoke. "II know you may have a hard time wrapping your minds around what you saw.. However, I'll let you know right now that it wasn't an illusion; what you observed was indeed real." He held up his hand to stop any incoming questions. "I recognise that every one of you demands answers. I understand that, but I would ask that you wait, and I'll try to explain in due time." And just like that, the giant walked away.

* * *

Li knew that their reaction was understandable. They wanted—no, needed answers, but that was something he couldn't give them at the moment. He needed to know the situation he was in was permanent. And if it was, then he'd just have to figure it out one step at a time.

"Wait! Hold up a damn minute!" Li sighed; he should have known they wouldn't accept his lousy excuse. However, he was surprised that it was Doug who had called him out first. He always thought that Doug seemed meeker than the rest. "Do you honestly just expect us to go along with that?" Doug glanced at the others for confirmation. Some nodded, while others still seemed to hesitate. "What you did out there is damn near amazing, but also very impossible." His voice started to shake from the incredible display moments prior. "We can't just accept that excuse, man. We're stuck together, and like it or not, we have the right to know."

"I understand your concerns, Doug," Li paused and glanced at the others, "all of your concerns. Be that as it may, I still cannot give you what you seek at this time."

Doug gave Li a frown, still couldn't believe that he was avoiding the question. "Look, man, you saved my life, and for that, I am really damn grateful." He pointed at the window. "But what I... No, what we saw out there deserves some sort of explanation."

Li stood there; he knew they wouldn't accept any more excuses. So, maybe he could give them the answers they desperately needed.

* * *

Carley's sole attention was on Sierra and so was everyone else's. She was shocked that Doug had the nerve to actually confront their "guardian angel." Even so, she still gawked at the soldier. She knew something was different about Sierra, the way kept to himself and the way he barely interacted with those around him. But then she remembered a conversation she had with Lilly earlier.

"Guys, I think that's enough." Her voice was low, weak, even; she couldn't believe it was her own. Yet, somehow, Sierra heard her. He directed his attention towards her. A small smile arose on her lips. "Guys!" Finally, they turned to her. "I think we should let Sierra be. He doesn't have to explain himself to anyone. He saved us all from those walkers. If not for him, we might not be here right now arguing about this. Let's not forget that if it weren't so loud, we wouldn't even be in this mess." She looked directly at Larry, who returned it with a glare. "The man has a right to his secrets."

Though Carley couldn't see Li's reaction because of the visor, she hoped he would be thankful. However, her moment was ruined by Larry's sudden interruption.

"I don't give a flying rat's ass about that!" Larry raged on."What I care about is that you are a possible danger to everyone here!" He snapped angrily.

Carley was amazed at how Larry could still act like this; after everything, the senile old man was still pissed. "Look, we can't turn on each other like this. Especially considering how things are right now." She glared at Larry. "We need him," she pleaded with the group. "He can protect us." She then turned to Lilly, hoping that she would understand, especially since their last conversation.

* * *

Lilly stared at everyone before her. When Sierra said he'd distract them away, she had thought he meant to lead them away. Not perform some sort of supernatural super move you see in movies. She could feel a migraine creeping up on her. Lilly did not have time for all this; she needed to worry about everyone's survival, not Sierra's secrets. Although she recognized that he didn't reveal everything to her, but she let that slide since Carley was right; that every man could have his secrets; as long it didn't endanger the group, then by all means.

She let out a sigh. "The man saved us," she said. "He has the right to keep where he got his abilities to himself." Lilly felt piercing eyes on her, who she knew belonged to her father. He didn't approve. But what was she supposed to do? Kick him out? "I recognize that you guys have concerns, but this isn't about us anymore. It's about survival, and shit, if a man can take out over a dozen walkers then I'd rather have him with us. Like it or not, we need him." She used her officer tone on them.

Lilly glanced at everyone. They did agree, albeit with much hesitation. Then she looked at Sierra; he better be thankful, she thought.

Eventually, the group dispersed to their original places, all except for Carley, "I wanted to say thanks for backing me up like that," she said with a smile.

"Yeah, no problem," Lilly replied, rubbing her forehead in irritation. "I just hope the others will understand."

Carley rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about the others, Lilly. They'll come around eventually. Especially with all the good Sierra will do." She gave an encouraging smile to her.

"And how do you know that? For all we know, he might think we aren't worth it and just leave," she said, a bit too harshly.

Carley ignored Lilly's tone. "You don't honestly believe that, do you?" she asked.

Lilly let out a tired sigh. "I honestly don't know what to believe anymore. Just a couple of days ago, I had finally got time off from work. Then the fucking apocalypse happened, and now this?" She ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. "Hope is going to be a lot to ask for in these coming days, that's for damn sure."

Carley noticed how exhausted she looked, even though it had only been a day or so since Lilly stepped up when no one else would. "I get it, Lilly," was all Carley could say before leaving her with her thoughts.

The airmen observed those around her. These people under her weren't soldiers; they didn't have experience or training to work under intense pressure. They would stall and question because they would be scared and wouldn't know what was good for them. Lilly was starting to have second thoughts, but she stopped herself. They needed someone in times likes this, and she didn't have a choice.

Before she could think any further, the giant approached her. "Thank you, ma'am," was all he said.

"Yeah, no problem. I just hope you're worth it," she said in return.

"I am, and much more. You'll find out soon enough." Lilly reeled back. If she didn't know any better, Sierra might have just flirted with her. Her cheeks slowly heated, causing a blush to form.

"W-Well, it better be soon." She said in a rush.

Completely unaffected by her sudden change of tone, Li continued, "There is another matter I need to talk to you about." Lilly gave him a confused look. "The supplies here are extremely limited, and there's no way into the pharmacy without the alarm going off." Lilly knew where this topic was going.

"What would you suggest, then?" she asked.

"I propose that we need to go further into the city to acquire the materials for our survival, ma'am," he answered.

Lilly regarded the idea for a bit. "Okay, I can see where this is going, but not all of us have guns like you or Carley. And if both of you leave, we're completely defenceless," she argued.

"That is why I suggest I go alone..." Before Li could explain his plan further, he was interrupted by Lilly's outburst.

"No. Absolutely not!"

"Ma'am, you must understand that we barely have anything here for all of us. If we're to survive this, we need supplies," he argued back. "The way things are at the moment, it will be better if I go and let the rest of the group cool down."

The brunette was stunned; as she continued to stare up at the soldier, her neck started to hurt. His willingness to sacrifice for the betterment of the group surprised her, since not a moment ago the group was against him. Lilly knew she couldn't stop him, so she conceded. "Very well, but please be careful out there, soldier."

"Will do, ma'am." He saluted to her and she returned the gesture. "A word of advice, before I leave, ma'am, do not let anyone leave through the front door for whatever reason. If worse comes to worst, go through the back," the giant advised her.

Lilly gave him a questioning look "It's just a precaution." He then opened one of his pouches and handed something to her. It was a lock; again, she questioned the purpose. "There is a cage that locks the front door outside. If the situation gets worse, you can always lock it so no one gets through." Lilly just nodded in agreement.

"One last thing." Li gave a quick glance to Carley. "I know this might sound strange, but stop Carley from any heroics." The airmen stared at the Spartan, confused. "This is about survival now. Heroics, while useful, aren't always needed," he explained.

"How do you know she'll do something like that?" Lilly inquired.

The super soldier turned a quick glance to the girl in question. "She's the type of person to rush to those in need without a second thought. Remind her that carrying a gun doesn't make her invincible. These creatures out there are attracted to noise; if she fires her gun, she'll attract a number of them here." He paused, adding the tension in the air. "And this time, I won't be here to stop it."

The Airmen worriedly nodded her head. She realized the full extent of what he was saying, and the possibility of being overrun and being eaten alive was not a pleasant thought. She turned her concentration back to the tall soldier, who regarded her one last time before he walked to the employee only door which led to the back door. Lilly was still astonished how he quickly he read the situation; it would seem that this man was built for survival. She honestly believed that they could make it through this, with him guiding them all.

* * *

Li exited through the back entrance and into the back alley. He surveyed the surrounding area. Bringing out his silenced SMG, the man wandered the empty streets; searching.

He noted the destruction around him. Cars rammed into buildings, stores in ruins, houses abandoned, and the dead spread everywhere. It recalled memories of what the Covenant did to human colonies; there had been nothing but carnage in its wake. The Covenant would leave nothing but death unto a planet no matter how hard the UNSC tried to stop them. Colony after colony had been lost to those bastards. Li hoped that back home, Earth was still standing or there was one still to save. Or even that his family had stopped them somehow.

The Spartan-II Commando ventured forward, looking for anything that could hold the supplies he sought. As he continued on, he finally spotted a supermarket. Though the man felt lucky that he found a building where everything he sought was housed, he still approached the area with caution. The soldier scanned the area; nothing but wreckage. He took one last glance and walked into the parking lot. Some of the vehicles might have something of value, he thought, but pushed the idea aside for later. If he had the time then he would check the cars out.

The super soldier neared the entrance, expecting to manually open the doors, but to his surprise it was automatic. It was the twenty-first century, not the 20th century, Li reminded himself. For a brief moment, he felt like Spartan-1337. Li let out a small chuckle; he was always the odd one out amongst them.

When he got inside the building, a loud, automated jingle signalled his arrival. He heard a noise further inside the market; he must have alerted someone or something of his presence. Not wanting to find out what he'd tipped off, Li hurried to find food for his group. He noticed that the supermarket was a complete mess. Food was on the floor, carts were everywhere, and some aisles had fallen down. As Li carried on, he thought about how, in only a little over twenty-four hours, society had somehow collapsed in upon itself. The dead rising had caused such uproar, he couldn't wrap his mind around it. The dead rising, he sighed, alternate universe, so anything is possible. The Spartan found the aisle he was looking for, the canned food. He opened his standard issue ODST rucksack and started packing up foods that would help them sustain their survival, checking each expiration date and choosing the cans that would last the longest.

Time went by quickly as he went aisle to aisle, searching for proper food. Finally done, he closed his pack and hoisted it onto his back again. Hearing a commotion, Li paused to focus on it—moaning. Walkers, he concluded. From what he could hear, it didn't sound like there were too many, but you could never be too careful. He had to hurry his scavenging. He made his way to the exit until he spotted a pharmacy. He paused and refocused on the sounds around him, debating whether or not the supplies inside the pharmacy would be worth it. The moaning was getting closer, and there was another sound now, too muffled to make out.

Li peeked around the end of the aisle. Coast clear, he then silently made his way to the pharmacy. Coast clear, he silently made his way to the pharmacy and vaulted over the countertop. He was preparing to start another search for supplies when his enhanced hearing picked up another voice; concentrating, he realized it was a group of regular, living humans. Three males and one female, to be exact. They were probably the ones who had signalled the walkers. Li decided he would rather not confront the other group, so he hastened through the medication, stuffing any type of moxifloxacin, oxycodone, prednisolone, diazepam, antibiotic, or painkiller he could find into his bag. Closing his rucksack, he slung it onto his back, picked up his SMG, jumped back over the counter, and headed for the door.

From deeper within the store, the Spartan could hear the other group getting closer. He was nearly to the door when he realised his group might need electrolytes. He mentally scolded himself. Confrontation might be on the table, after all. He made his way to the small fridge with drinks in them near the cash registers. Swiftly opening it, he examined each drink with haste. Picking up the last drink which was named "Gatorade," he checked the contents. Again he brought out his pack and quickly shoved the "Gatorade" into his rucksack.

Snatching the last one, he recognised that the voices were closer now. Pinpointing the noise, he deduced that they were near the exit; they would find him sooner or later, and Li would rather meet them on his own terms than be caught off-guard.

Li slowly sneaked towards them, watching them. They were completely unaware a seven-foot tall man from the future could kill them at any moment. Li was debating whether or not to just kill them outright, but before he could decide, he overheard their conversation.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Michael!" said the tallest one. His face was hidden within the hood he wore, and he carried a revolver. Such an ancient weapon, Li thought. "We shouldn't have just run in guns blazing like that! Who the hell knows what we attracted in here with us." The hooded man scolded the man Li assumed was Michael. The man in question looked darker skinned than the rest, about average height with what seemed to be an athletic body type, dressed in plain jeans and a grey shirt.

"It's fine. If anything gets near us we'll just blast 'em," Michael retorted to his friend.

Li continued to observe them. The hooded man and Michael were getting into a heated debate. The female, on the other hand, looked nervous about the whole situation. The other male, slightly taller than Michael but not as tall as the hooded one, finally chimed in.

"Guys we don't have time for this. We need to get the shit we came here for and leave." He brought up his rifle. "So Michael, Alex, stop your bickering and let's go." The group immediately stopped their arguing and searched for supplies. Li took this opportunity to approach them.

Getting close enough to the other group, Li notified his presence to the other survivors; SMG in hand.

The female was the first one to notice him, "Stop! S-Stop right there!" She was nervous; her gun, a simple Glock, was shaking in her hands.

Immediately, the rest of the group pointed their guns at the Spartan.

Li tried to appear as non-threatening as possible, but as a two-metre tall super soldier, he could only do so much.

"I mean you no harm," he said in a calm voice.

Now that the group got a better glimpse of the Spartan, they were in shock. Before them, was a seven-foot-tall soldier, wearing possibly the most advanced armour known to man. Disregarding their shocked expressions, Li continued. "I only want to leave this building. However, you're currently blocking the exit."

The man who carried the rifle was the first one to snap out of his stunned state. "If that's the case, then by all means." He gestured to the door.

"Wait. Wait, just a damn minute, "Michael interrupted. "You can't be serious here! We're gonna let him get away with what could be a lot of supplies?!"

"And what do you suggest we do than Michael? Take all his stuff? Don't be ridiculous!" said the woman. Her appearance was young; possibly early twenties.

Michael cocked his shotgun. "That's exactly what I'm saying." He pointed his gun at Li.

"You can't be serious here?" Said the hooded individual. Now that he saw all of them, they were all young.

"I am being dead fucking serious here!" Michael replied sternly. "Just look at him. He probably has food, medicine, and ammo all stocked up in that armor of his. And look at his bag—it's huge! We don't know what kind of shit he's got in there!" the man continued to argue with his group. Michael looked at their supposed leader. "Jason, think about!"

The group leader, Jason, couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What you are saying is to rob him blind! That's basically killing him!" he yelled.

"It's him or us, Jason!" Michael argued back. He stared at the hooded one for support. "Richie, come on, man, think about it. We don't know what's further in the store. For all, we know, we could be surrounded by those fucking things." He gave the hooded one, Richie, a stern look. "Do you really want Jess to go through all of this alone?" He then looked back at the Spartan. "It's him or us," he repeated.

Richie had a conflicted expression on his face, debating whether to steal and leave a man defenceless, or risk a journey for their own supplies with a possibility of dying.

Jason couldn't believe what he was seeing; his best friends were actually thinking about robbing the man. "You can't be serious here, Richie. Are you actually thinking about it? Since when do you ever agree with Michael?!"

Richie gave an apologetic look to his friend. "I'm sorry, Jason, but he's right. I can't risk it. I can't leave Jess alone like that." He made up his mind and pointed his revolver at Li.

"You guys are insane! We can't do this!" Jason, grasping at straws, looked to his last resort. "Kassie, tell them this is crazy! That this isn't right."

The girl, Kassie, shook her, "I'm sorry, Jason, but they're right."

Now completely stunned by his friends' decision to attack the man.

"We don't have a choice," Kassie said grimly. "I don't like it either, but I don't want to die. I still have to find my parents, and I can't do that if I'm dead, Jason." She took a deep, shaking breath. "It's called survival."

"You guys are insane," Jason said in disbelief. He sighed. "Alright." Finally conceded to their outrageous plan.

Jason drew his bolt-action rifle to the soldier. "I am so sorry, sir." His voice was meek, still not believing that they are actually going through with this.

Li watched situation change before his eyes as the group's consensus shifted from "let him leave" to "strip him of his belongings at gunpoint." In times of great strife, people would do anything to survive. Li knew that, but he had hoped that there was still an alternative.

He'd rather not kill them.

"If you are worried about your safe return, then I can accompany you all to retrieve the supplies you desire." The soldier offered them, hoping they would accept.

Again, he would rather not kill these kids.

While the rest of the group contemplated the idea, Michael outright refused, signing them to their fates. "No can do. That's still risky." The gruff man was starting to get agitated that the situation was taking longer than it should. "Just give up your shit already! You fucking Brit."

The sun was beginning to set; Li knew that he had been out here for a while now. He needed to finish this quickly, or his group would worry and do something drastic.

"I apologise that we could not come to an agreement," Li said stoically. "Be that as it may, I can not hand you my items." The Spartan brought up his gun, aiming it at them. "If we cannot agree to those terms or find an alternative, then I will have to ask you to move." Li's voice, while still monotone, was laced with ferocity. His entire body language changed; it was showing through, how dangerous he could be. He straightened, drawing himself up to his full height, and the shadows gave him a haunting demeanour.

Hoping they would be scared and back off; he did not want to kill them.

Michael, ever persistent, pushed onwards. "There's one of you and four of us."

"I would rather not kill you lot," Li said impassively. "But, I will do what I must." He stepped closer. To them, he had the appearance of a giant predator waiting to pounce on his prey at any moment.

"Big words for a big man," Michael said. "Too bad it's just that; words." He fired a shot at the giant, not realising he was signing a death warrant from a demon.

* * *

Kassie couldn't believe her eyes. She swore that Michael had blasted him with his shotgun. She wished that man had just handed his stuff over; she didn't want to kill him. However, Michael had other ideas. He was always the more aggressive one in their group. Still, what should have been a dead giant was instead replaced with her friends, bloodied on the floor.

The man, that fucking monster, stood there in the middle of the mutilated forms of her friends. Kassie thought it was her mind playing tricks on her; she blinked, wishing it was. Nothing changed. The monster was now facing her. His dark blue vizor piercing at her. She tried to take a step back, but she couldn't move. She was petrified as he started walking towards her.

The naive girl tried to move once more; instead, she fell to the ground. Kassie attempted to back away, but she found herself blocked by a wall. She was sweating profusely now. Tears were starting to fog her eyes, and she couldn't breathe. Quickly remembering she still had her pistol with her, she pointed it at the monster.

"S-Stay back!" she screamed.

The behemoth paused. Kassie glance at her friends and a sudden urge to vomit erupted inside her. Michael had his entire head ripped out of his body. Similar to a volcanic eruption; blood was exploding everywhere where his head was supposed to be. And Jason, oh god, Jason, his entire head was caved into the ground. She couldn't see what happened to Richie, but she managed to see blood still pouring out where his body lay. Kassie couldn't hold it anymore, her tears were now covering her face.

While Kassie viewed her friends' unruly demise, she didn't notice that the very demon now stood in front of her. Realizing it, she hurriedly adjusted her aim at the beast. "D-Don't c-come any c-closer," Kassie barely choked out.

Rather than listen to the scarred girl's threat, the demon squatted in front of her. Leaning forward, he said in a low voice, "You should have taken the deal."

The last thing Kassie saw before everything went to black was the reflection of her own face, screaming.

* * *

Li walked out of the supermarket, slightly bloodied. It was already nightfall by the time he left. Wiping away the blood off his knife and putting it back to its helm, he inspected the parking lot. The coast was clear. He ventured back to base without needing to activate his VISR, since all Spartan-II eyes were augmented with night vision.

Li maintained the same path he until he heard a gunshot, followed by more. Realising it was where Everett's Pharmacy Drugstore was located, Li rushed back to his destination. He pushed past any walkers he ran into, slamming past them without altering his speed whatsoever. Guts spilt onto his already blood-soaked armour as he hurried back.

Finally making it, the first thing he noticed was that walkers were gathering around the store again. Not one to waste any time, Li decided to use his M7S Submachine gun, firing off headshots in quick succession. He saw the front gate was locked with the lock he had given to Lilly earlier. However, he heard another gunshot inside. An unpleasant thought occurred to his mind.

The Spartan raced through the back door, hoping it wasn't too late. As he exited the employee office room to the storefront, Li saw new and unfamiliar faces. An older woman frantically trying to clean the muck off a young boy, a man arguing with Larry, a young girl with frizzy hair, and a darker skinned man. Li noticed Carley pointing her gun at a dead walker.

The new survivors notice the bloodied form of the giant. Blood still dripped from his armour.

Li instantly brought up his SMG, pointing it at the new members, which alarmed the everyone.

"What the hell is going on?" asked the black man.

* * *

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I promise I won't take too long to update (Maybe). Anyways, please review, follow and favorite. Till next time.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey everyone! Just wanted to say Happy New Year! Let's hope it's a good one. Also, I'd like to thank and introduce my new beta reader GreenHat24. One last thing, on the last topic about the upgrades... well I decided to leave it up to chance and flip a coin. And it landed on heads, which means Li get's the upgrades. Sorry anyone who is disappointed with that result.

* * *

The situation in the room was tense. Everyone was afraid to move even a muscle in fear of the hulking giant firing upon them.

"What the hell is going on?" asked the darker man, breaking the silence.

Carley glanced at the man. He looked oddly familiar, she was sure of it. She couldn't quite place it, but she definitely knew him from somewhere.

"Sierra, put the gun down," Carley urged. "These people are friends."

The tall soldier before her did nothing of the sort; he stayed in position. Now that Carley had a better look at the giant, he was covered in blood, though it appeared he was uninjured. She had a haunting suspicion, which she hoped was untrue.

"Is that boy infected?"

Carley blinked. The way he said it gave her a gut wrenching feeling which told her he would have no qualms about killing the boy if he was. "He's not!" she said quickly.

The soldier slowly lowered his gun. Carley breathed out a sigh of relief, glad that they had avoided an unnecessary confrontation.

However, before she could explain who these people were and how they came to be, Sierra walked towards the boy and his mother, though he was immediately blocked by the father.

"What the hell are you doing?" said the father.

The Spartan stared down at the man. Carley could see the uneasiness in his eyes, fright even. She only noticed now that Sierra could have such a terrifying presence.

"I will check for myself if your son is infected or not," answered the soldier.

With whatever courage the father gathered up, he stepped defiantly towards the giant. "The girl said he ain't bit, so he ain't bit!"

"Sir, I highly advise you to move aside if you do not want you and your family to end up dead."

Carley knew she had to do something. If she let this continue, Sierra might actually do something drastic. Just as she was about to step in, she was blocked by Lilly. Carley glanced at Lilly, confused. Wouldn't she want to stop this from blowing up further? Lilly turned to her, shaking her head. Carley was stunned that no one was saying anything. This was a child they were talking about.

Despite this, the man from earlier approached Sierra. "Come on, man, the boy ain't bit. I saw it for myself," the black man tried to reason with the soldier.

The soldier shook his head. "Be that as it may, I would rather validate that myself."

Still, the father would not budge. Realizing this was going nowhere, the Spartan pushed aside the father and grabbed the child from his helpless mother.

"Kenny! Do something!" she cried out.

"The hell do you think you're doing?!" The father lunged at him, but surprisingly, it was Larry who blocked him.

"Put the boy down!" yelled the black man.

The soldier ignored them all, like some pesky fly to a lion. He checked the boy through all the dirt and muck. He pulled up the sleeves of the boy's shirt. From there, he cleaned his arms and neck; no bite, no sign of infection. He then returned the boy to his mother.

"He is not infected," was all the Spartan said before walking off, believing the issue had been resolved. However, the father was still angry.

"Who the hell do you think you are, huh?" the father raved on. "We told you he ain't bit and you done went and did it anyway!"

The soldier stopped, but did not pay him any mind. "Sir, keep your voice down or I'll have no choice but to kick you and your group out." And with that, their guardian walked off to another corner.

Carley did not know when she started to hold her breath, but felt relieved upon finally releasing it. She looked around, and could still feel the tension but just a little less clouded.

She looked at Lilly, who in turn gave her an angry expression. The reporter was bewildered, did Lilly honestly think this was her fault? What the hell was she supposed to do? Leave them to get eaten? Carley scoffed and returned to what she was doing; trying to figure out how to get this damn radio to work.

As Carley continued to attempt to get the radio to turn on, she saw Sierra talking to Lilly in the corner of her eye. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but Lilly's previous expression of displeasure was now replaced with a grin that stretched from ear to ear. She huffed. That was none of her concern. Soon, things started to settle down for everyone. Though there was still some animosity amongst the group, it was something. As Carley resumed her work on the radio, the man from the other group greeted her.

Carley looked at him once more. She was sure she had seen him before. Recalling it now, it was not the familiarity of the man that drove her to agree with Glenn's outrageous plan to save some helpless band of strangers outside, nor her concern that in that group there might have been someone she knew. No, it was purely coincidental. At the moment, she saw people who needed help and she needed to help them.

The familiar man gave her a comforting grin. It was a soothing smile genuine enough to achieve the edges of his eyes, one that appeared to glimmer with a sort of knowing quip. A name popped into her head. His name was Lee Everett, and he was toying with her.

"Batteries," she heard him say.

She gave Lee a confused stare. Then it clicked. "Of course, I knew that," she replied.

"I could look for some for you, if you want," he offered.

"It's fine," she replied. "I left some over by the counter. Can you get them for me?"

The man nodded and went to get them.

Almost certainly, he most likely than not thought she was stupid. Maybe, he thought by helping her fix this broken radio, he was repaying her for saving him. He seemed eager to help; after all, it was the least he could do.

She glimpsed at the man name Lee. Of course, she knew how to use batteries, what simpleton in this day of age did not?

Lee returned and with the batteries she requested.

"Thanks," she said.

As Carley put the batteries into the radio, she realized just who this man was.

 _"The Jury has elevated the charges against the suspect of the first-degree murder of Georgia State Senator, Jared Coleson. The defendant, a 37-year-old University of Georgia history professor, Lee Everett, could possibly face 30 years to life in prison. According to hospital officials, Senator Coleson died less than an hour before being admitted to Grady Memorial Hospital due to injuries sustained during the battery. As a result, grand jurors elevated Everett's initial charge of aggravated battery to felony murder."_

Carley stared at the radio. Once again, she couldn't breathe. Sweat was slowly starting to pour down her skin. Anxiety was building up. A thought ran through her mind.

They were stuck in a room with a murderer.

She placed a hand on the counter, steadying herself, trying not to look suspicious. Breathe in and out, she said to herself.

The reporter slowly peered over at the man, Lee Everett, the murderer, still having that warm smile plastered on his face.

He was talking to the others; she could see the uncaring expressions on their faces, completely oblivious to the identity of the person they were talking to.

Carley could see that Lee was now talking to Lilly, who was informing him of the locked pharmacy and their situation at hand, most likely offering the same courtesy he gave to her. She paused. If a man was so willing to help those around him, then maybe he's not so bad, right?

Carley still didn't know what to think. Deep in thought, she failed to notice Sierra's presence behind her.

"Carley, I need to talk to you for a moment," Sierra announced to her.

She jumped in surprise, still not used to how such a giant of a man could be so silent. "Y-Yes?" she answered.

"Lilly has informed me that you were the one to let these stragglers in." It wasn't a question, that much she was certain about.

The reporter tilted her head back, looking straight into the man's eyes, or where his eyes were supposed to be at least. "So? What of it?" she responded, unwavered by the dominant appearance of the Spartan.

"Carley, need I remind you of the situation we're in?" Sierra asked.

There was a slight pain in her chest. She was hurt. Carley would have thought that he, if anyone, would understand why she did what she did. "What'd you expect me to do? Just leave them?" Sierra remained silent on her accusation. Her eyes widened by his approach. She couldn't believe what he was insinuating. "Jesus Christ! They had children, Sierra!"

Sierra, ever the patient one, calmly said, "I understand that, Carley, but be that as it may, we are in a very desperate predicament. We do not know who those people are and how dangerous they can be, and if our condition becomes even worse, these people might take everything we have." He stole a quick glance at the others. "Furthermore, they might be very dangerous people."

The confidence washed away from her. Carley knew exactly what Sierra was talking about. But, not one to give up so easily, she persisted in staring back at their tall guardian. "So what? We don't know that yet. Who knows? These people can help us," she pressed forward. "We need to start trusting people in times like these or else who can we rely on?" There was a pause, hesitation ever-present in her voice. "You saved me without even knowing who I was." Carley turned her head away, not wanting Sierra to see her in this state, her once confident nature now gone.

Sierra stood there gazing at her. There was a small outtake of air, barely audible. Carley would have missed it and assumed it was a trick of her ears, had she not been so close to him. "Very well, Miss Vigil. However, that does not disregard the fact that if these people make one mistake, I will not hesitate to kick them out. Are we clear?"

Carley beamed, glad that he understood her and her decision. An overwhelming feeling of positivity grew within her chest. "You won't regret this, chief."

The Spartan nodded. "Since we came to this agreement; are you hungry, by any chance?"

The reporter was about to refuse, but her stomach indicated otherwise. Heat formed on her cheeks, embarrassment flooding her voice. "Oh yeah, sure," she tried playing it off.

Sierra opened one of the many pouches that covered his advanced armor. He took out a granola and protein bar and proceeded to hand them to her.

"How about you? Have you eaten yet?" she asked.

"Don't worry about me, Carley," he replied in his deep, monotonous accent.

Once more, she tried to refuse, although her stomach rumbled yet again. Carley quickly grabbed the bars, and blushed even further in embarrassment.

The soldier nodded one last time and left to talk to the others, probably checking up on them, though she noticed that he was still hesitant about the new survivors. Carley knew that uniting the groups together would take time, but she accepted it. Nevertheless, it appeared he was at least trying to make the effort, so that was something. She smiled at that.

She gazed at her surroundings, observing the rest of the group. The young girl that came with Lee sat at the edge of the counter, holding her walkie-talkie. She still seemed to be shaken from what happened moments prior.

Carley glanced at her two bars, considering her choices. And to be completely honest with herself, she didn't even feel all that hungry; no matter what her stomach indicated. The reporter walked towards the little girl.

"Hey, how are you holding up, sweetie?"

The young girl in question was startled by Carley's sudden appearance. She mumbled something inaudible.

Carley put a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulder. "I'm sorry, sweetie, but can you speak up?" She gave her a comforting smile.

"I-I'm fine, ma'am," the girl said in a rush.

Carley's smile was still present on her face. "That's good to hear. What's your name, sweetie?" She pressed a hand to her chest. "Mine is Carley."

The young girl hid behind her baseball cap, unsure of what to say.

Carley gave a reassuring squeeze on her shoulder. "It's okay, I don't bite," she said jokingly.

Again, the little girl mumbled words at her. Carley asked her to speak up. "T-Thank you for saving me and Lee," she spoke lowly.

The reporter, glad that she finally got through to her, responded, "Don't mention it, kiddo. Now, how 'bout that name?"

"Clem-Clementine," she finally answered.

"Well Clementine, are you hungry, by any chance?"

Though the girl was still hesitant, she answered, "Um, yes, I am."

"Well, you're in luck, Clementine. I just so happen to have an extra bar on me." Carley showed her the bars. "Which one do you want?"

Clementine slowly reached out for the granola bar. "Can I have this one?"

"Of course you can." Carley's smile made its way onto Clementine's face and soon both were grinning.

"Thank you, Carley," she said sweetly.

"No problem, Clem."

As Clementine started to open the wrapper and took a big bite of the bar, her smile grew on her face. "Blueberry's my favorite," she said energetically.

Carley watched Clem joyfully eat the granola bar. Unsure of how to bring up the topic at hand, she bluntly asked, "Hey Clem, do you know that man?"

Clementine stopped and stared at Carley, hesitation slowly rising in her face. The pregnant pause lasted longer than it should have. "Yes," she finally answered. "He saved me when my babysitter turned into one of those monsters."

The reporter gazed at the girl with a sad expression. Her family was nowhere in sight and her only known associate died before her eyes. Such an experience must have been traumatizing. However, she still needed to know something. "Did you know him before all of this?" she pushed.

The hesitation was stronger than before. Clementine did not know whether to further explain the circumstances that led them to be together.

Carley knew that the girl wouldn't budge, so she tried easing her concerns. "Don't worry, sweetie. I'm not going to do anything bad. We're all in this together."

Clem peaked over at Lee, who was talking to Lilly, and looked back at Carley. "No," she answered.

Carley nodded her head. She expected that answer, but she had to make sure. She had been researching Lee's case prior to the apocalypse. In that research, there wasn't anything linking Lee with any known children. Be that as it may, Lee was still a convicted felon and him being near a child unrelated to him did not sit well with her.

Clem, sensing the doubt within Carley, quickly tried to defend her protector. "Lee is a nice man. He saved me."

Carley gave her a small smile. "I know, honey," was all she could say.

The other man from earlier, Kenny, decided to make an announcement. "Everyone," he said to get the group's attention, "we should look for anything useful. We could be here for a while."

"That won't be necessary," stated Sierra.

Kenny glared at the soldier. "And why's that?"

"Before your group arrived, this place was already stripped clean. There is nothing of value here besides that pharmacy, which is locked. If we don't have the key to get in, the alarm will go off. However, I did go out to scout for some supplies." The soldier looked around. "I have gathered various foods and medicine, except I miscalculated. I did not expect there would be more survivors joining us."

"Well then, if that's the case, we should go and look for this key," said Kenny.

"This place isn't as permanent as I thought," Glenn chimed in.

"Well, this place ain't exactly Fort Knox," Kenny retorted.

The convict, Lee, stepped in, curious about what to do next. "And what do you suggest?"

Glenn's expression tightened. "Gas." Lee gave him a look of confusion. "We need as much gas as possible. So we can get out of Macon," he sternly voiced.

Lee and Kenny nodded in agreement.

"So I'll head out and get gas. There's a motel not too far from here, out towards the end of Peachtree. I'll work my way towards it and loop back, syphoning what I can." What Glenn said put everyone on hold.

"Are you sure?" interrupted the Spartan. "If anything, I can do it," Sierra offered.

"No, it's fine." Glenn gave a reassuring smile to the soldier. "You've already done enough for us. It's about time we started pulling our weight."

Sierra acknowledged the man's fortitude, applauding his words. "Very well then. How will we contact you if the circumstances call for it?"

"I think I might be able to help with that." Lee pulled out his radio. "Take this, Glenn. Clementine's got the other one. Check in with her and get out of there as soon as you can."

Glenn stuffed the radio in his back pocket. As he was about to head towards the exit, Sierra grabbed his arm. Glenn stopped and stared at the tall soldier, questioning the sudden gesture.

"Do not, and I mean do not, do anything unnecessary." He tightened his hold on Glenn's arm, causing the Asian's face to contort slightly in pain. "No Heroics." He then let go of him. Glenn rubbed his forearm and quickly left the building.

Carley glanced at the spot Glenn once was. Though she and rest of them only knew Sierra for a short time, they had never seen him express even an ounce of emotion. Always monotone or calm, to show this much emotion was a surprise for not only her but everyone from the original group.

Kenny, on the other hand, who was still upset from earlier, confronted the Spartan. "Why the hell did you do that?"

The Spartan looked down at the older man, debating whether or not to indulge in Kenny's banter. "He's not trained." Looking up at the door, he continued, "People aren't trained to be able to figure out how to survive. He will do unnecessary actions that'll endanger not only him but possibly this entire group." The giant stared down at the father. "Heroics aren't vital for survival." Finished with his monologue, the soldier walked off to the employee office.

The father just stared at the door, unsure of how to respond.

"Don't mind him," Lilly finally voiced. "Trust me when I say that he knows what he's saying."

Kenny snorted, not happy with how the confrontation ended.

Ignoring Kenny's behaviour, she started the introductions. "I'm Lilly, that's Carley, Doug, my dad, Larry," who snorted in response, "and the one we were just talking to was Sierra."

"Well, who does he think he is?" he responded.

"Someone who could possibly save your life, Hell, probably all our lives," Carley voiced rather harshly.

Lilly rubbed her head frustration, not wanting another incident. "Doug, can you be on the lookout? Let us know if anything happens."

"You got it," Doug said.

"What you said earlier, what did you mean by that?" Lee spoke, curious about the giant.

A look of conflict appeared on both of the brunette's faces, unsure of how they should reveal Sierra's abilities or even if they should at all. However, it was Larry who voiced his loud opinion. "I'll tell you what it means!" he shouted, earning him a glare from his daughter. "The man's a fucking freak, that's all there is to it."

Carley glared furiously at Larry's sudden outburst; his wrongful opinion of their guardian angel provoking her. However, this made the new survivors confused. Lee glanced at Kenny, who in turn just shrugged.

Lilly asked Carley in frustration, "Carley, can you explain our situation to them?" She then continued to glare at her father. "I'll deal with my dad." Lilly grabbed her father's arm and moved them to the corner, where they could hear her scolding him.

The new survivors turned to Carley. "Don't mind Larry, he's a senile old man who gets a kick out of being an asshole." Her voice was laced with annoyance. She took a deep breath. "What I said earlier; I honestly don't know how to explain it."

This time it was the mother, Katjaa, who spoke up. "Well, do you know what type of man he is? Is he in charge?"

Carley held up her hand to stop the rapid bombardment of questions. "You guys probably guessed that Sierra isn't from around here, what with the accent and all." She stared at where the Spartan had gone before focusing her attention on the others. "That man is something else, we all saw him kill over a dozen walkers."

The new members looked at each other with confusion, "What's a walker?" asked Lee.

"That's what we have been calling the undead," answered Carley. "It was Sierra's idea," she added.

Now realizing what the behemoth could potentially do, they had disbelief written on their faces. "That's impossible," Kenny stated.

"Well, I thought the dead walking was impossible, but look at this shit," Carley snapped sarcastically. When she was about to continue, they all heard loud moaning approaching the store.

Soon, the survivors hid, hoping the undead would leave them be. As the group stood in silence, the moaning of the walkers grew louder and louder until suddenly, loud gunfire was heard in the distance; leading them away.

"What was that?" Katjaa questioned frantically, holding her son for dear life.

The ex-convict glance around. "I don't know, but it sounded like gunfire."

"Do you think it was the military?" asked Kenny.

"Whatever the hell it was, it was this bitch and her itchy trigger finger's fault! It almost got us all killed!" Larry pushed past his daughter and stormed straight to Carley.

"How the fuck is this my fault?" the reporter angrily questioned the old veteran.

"'Cause if it wasn't for you letting these people in, you wouldn't have fired your gun-" Before Larry could continue his outburst, he fell, hyperventilating while clenching his chest.

Lilly quickly rushed to her father. "DAD!" she crouched to check on him, desperately.

"What the hell's wrong with him?" asked Kenny frantically.

"Was he the one bitten?" Lee questioned hastily.

"No No NO! It's not that! It's his heart," Lilly answered, distraught.

"My pills." Larry was barely able to say it.

"Uh-um, Nitroglycerin pills?" said Katjaa in a rush.

"Yes! We were out. We've been trying to get into the pharmacy since we got here!" With plea, she looked at the new members. "Please, try to get in there!"

Lee approached Lilly with caution. "We'll try to get in there somehow," he said, trying to calm her down.

She looked at Lee with desperation. "Thank you."

The entire room changed from uneasiness to eagerness. Carley watched the exchange unfold; how the environment went from one thing to another.

Lee went to search for a way into the pharmacy without the alarm going off. Eventually, Sierra came out of the office.

Noticing Larry's weakened state, Sierra asked, "What's the situation?" Lilly looked up at him and explained what had happened. He nodded and asked, "Why did you not inform me of his condition beforehand?"

"Sorry, but it slipped my mind," Lilly replied sarcastically.

The soldier ignored her attitude and went on his way. Carley chases after him, stopping him by the counter. "I have to tell you something important, Sierra." The Spartan stared at her, which Carley assumed he was waiting for her to continue. "It's about Lee, I think I know him from somewhere."

The giant continued to look at her. Slowly, uneasiness built up inside her. She remembered the gore that covered his armor and how he was so willing to throw out or possibly even kill Kenny's boy. The reporter focused on his vizor, not knowing how to explain this.

She took a deep breath and gave a firm stare. "I think Lee is a convicted felon. Before all this, he was charged with the murder of a state senator."

There was a moment of eerie silence between them. Carley could feel the uneasiness continue to rise within her.

"Do you think the man is a threat?" Sierra questioned, breaking the silence.

Another pause.

Carley contemplated on what to say to the giant. "I honestly don't know." She glanced at Lee talking to Clementine as they made their way to the office. "I talked to Clementine, the girl he was with. She told me that he saved her. So that's gotta mean something, right?"

The giant slowly nodded. "But that doesn't answer my question, Carley." He hovered over her. Soon, the shadows around him gave him the appearance of a predator. "Do you think the man is a threat to the group?" he questioned her more sternly.

Carley gulped. Never had she seen Sierra acting like this. It was frightening. A slight shiver was sent throughout her body. "I-I don't know," she answered.

That was all it took for the Spartan. He had made up his mind.

Sierra was about to head to the office to confront the man, but Carley grabbed his arm to stop him. "Please, let me handle this." She felt that their guardian angel might do something drastic. "You've already done enough for us." The soldier stared down at her, debating whether or not this was a good idea. "Let me handle this. It's my fault, so I have to fix this," Carley repeated firmly.

Li sighed. Jorge-052 would've been a better fit for this situation than him. "Very well. However, I must insist that you take your gun with you AND I guard the door, just in case something were to happen."

A smile arose on Carley's lips. "Thanks. You won't regret this."

They made their way to the office. Carley stopped beside the door. She grabbed hold of the door handle with her shaking hand. The reporter turned to look at the soldier who, upon sensing her reluctance, gave her a nod. After boosting her confidence, she sucked in a breath of vertigo and ventured into the office.

The room was quiet and dimly lit. She questioned if it was like this last time she was in here. She saw pallets and tables pressed against both the exit door and the pharmacy door. Carley noticed the bloodied mattress, and again, she questioned if this was the same room she had entered before.

Clementine was the first one to take notice of her random appearance. The little girl was standing beside the door which Carley just came from. Carley brought her fingers close to her lips, requesting the girl to remain silent. She nodded curiously.

Lee's back was turned to her. He was holding something she couldn't quite make out. Whatever it was, he ripped it in half. The sound of paper echoed in the room. A photo, perhaps?

Carley took this opportunity to call out to him. "Find anything?"

She felt a small sense of satisfaction as Lee jumped, startled by her sudden arrival. He spun quickly to face her, letting one of the pieces fall to the ground. Unfortunately for him, it fell face up. The discarded piece was a photo of Lee.

Carley glanced at him. He was adamant on withholding the truth.

He smiled at her. "It's a photo of the people who owned this place," he said optimistically.

The reporter felt a slow form of disgust towards the man. "I know who you are," she said bluntly.

Lee's demeanour instantly changed. His smile became a frown. His helpful energetic posture, now defensive. The calm in his eyes overshadowed with hostility.

"You're Lee Everett.," she pressed. "You're a professor at Athens who killed a State Senator, who was sleeping with your wife. This is your parents' store; folks around here know the owner's son got himself a life sentence, but I am a reporter for WABE in Atlanta. I paid attention to that trial."

Lee crossed his arms, glaring at her.

"Maybe you are a murderer," Carley added accusingly, "but I don't really care. Frankly, that's a skill that might come in handy."

His frown, arms crossed, and the subtle, murderous glare turned to a desperate plea. She knew Lee didn't believe her. Carley was unsure exactly which part he didn't believe; the part where she didn't care he was a murderer or the idea that him being one might just come in handy

She knew this plan was risky. She didn't want Sierra to deal with this. She had a haunting suspicion that Sierra might do something incredibly drastic, which did not sit right with her. Carley looked at Lee. Even with his defensive demeanour, there was something oddly likeable about him, and for whatever reason, it irked her to give him a second chance. Maybe Lee was innocent. He seemed too much of a good guy to have murdered a state senator, but even as she followed the trial, the evidence was stacked against him.

"Did you tell anyone who you were or how you were tied to this place?"

"No, I've been sticking for first names for a reason," he answered harshly.

Smart, was what crossed Carley's mind. Lee sighed. He looked exhausted. His eyes briefly darted to Clementine and around the room. She knew he was nervous. His lips curled into that smile of his. For some reason, it pained Carley to see it.

"You seem like an okay guy," Carley finally said. "The last thing we need is more drama out there. You've got a little girl to take care of and-" She sighed and shook her head. "Look, just don't make me wrong about this."

He stepped forward, bridging the gap between them. She took a step back, signalling to him that it was an admission to turn it down. A show of grit on his part. The way he was hovering over her, covering the ceiling light behind him, conveyed him as a silhouette and kept her in the dark.

"I don't plan to," he said sternly.

"Good, because if this lasts any longer than a few days and you're a detriment to the group, then we'd have a problem."

Lee's continuous glare and gruffness of voice bordered on threatening. He realized the stakes and how much he was risking. He did not need anyone to tell him what he could lose.

"Good," Carley settled.

"Did you tell anyone?" he questioned bashfully.

Carley knew this question would arise. She tried to avoid it by settling early. "Yes," she answered truthfully.

His expression tightened, a look of anger evident on his face. "Why?" he asked.

"Because I didn't know what to expect from you. That's why. I thought you were a legit murderer. I needed someone there just in case you tried anything," Carley explained. "But guess I was wrong. Don't worry, I'll keep this to myself and I'll tell Sierra to keep quiet as well."

"How can I trust you?"

"You can't; I suppose you don't have many other options." She turned away from him, returning back to the storefront. She glanced at him once more, over her shoulder.

"Wait," he called out as she was about to leave. "Thanks," he said, his voice soft and even.

Carley looked away, hiding the grin that arose from him. She liked that- appreciated that he was grateful and felt happy knowing that he could trust her, however reluctant he may be.

"Don't worry about it," she replied and walked out.

But once on the other side, her smile faded. She rested her back against the door, sliding slowly down to the floor in a physical depiction of a long, drawn-out sigh.

She felt the watchful eyes of her guardian angel, Sierra. He stoically peered over at her. "How did it go?"

The reporter glanced at her companion. "We can trust him for now."

Sierra nodded. "I'll leave this to your judgement, as well as the consequences."

Carley didn't respond. She looked at the floor. Her thoughts were what conspired moments ago. Everything within her told her to stay away. He was a convicted felon, a convicted murderer to boot. She would've liked to think he was a good guy. The journalist within her wanted to uncover this, but the humane side of her wanted to give him a second chance and to make sure the little girl was safe. She thought back to what she said to Sierra. Her gut told her she could trust him. She wanted to trust him.

The giant was still beside her, just standing there. He eventually crouched down and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

Carley glimpsed at him, giving him a small smile. She was curious what was under that helmet of his. For whatever reason, she thought of a handsome knight in shining armor. A blush formed on her cheeks, and she quickly tried to look away. She was too ashamed to look at him, feared that he could read her mind and see the embarrassing yet fitting image she had of him.

However, Sierra misinterpreted the action. "Don't worry, Carley. Everything will work out eventually, and if there is anything you need of me, I'll be right here."

If her cheeks weren't red before, they definitely were now. 'Th-Thanks, Sierra." She gave him a smile, trying desperately to hide the warm feelings she had.

He just nodded and sat beside her. Carley wasn't expecting such an action. Sierra had always seemed to try and put distance or a wall between himself and everyone else. This gesture was unusual for him. Nevertheless, she didn't mind it. She liked the closeness amongst them right now.

Though the floor was cold and she shivered from it, Sierra had this radiating warmth to him that made it all the more comfortable. This presence was so comforting that she couldn't help but slowly doze off to sleep.

A voice on the other side woke her from her daze.

"Lee?" The voice was muffled but understandable. It was soft and innocent, no doubt belonging to Clementine.

"Yeah?" Lee replied.

"Y-You're not bad, right?" There was hesitation in her voice, fear, almost.

"I, uh, why are you asking me that?"

"That lady said you killed someone. Was that because he was one of the things trying to eat you?"

"No," he admitted finally. "He wasn't."

There was a pregnant pause between them. Carley could feel her heart beating faster. She was worried for Clementine. Did she misjudge the man? She was about to get up and barge in, but the conversation resumed.

"Oh... was he bad?" There was a slight hint of desperation in the girl's voice, hoping her protector wasn't what he appeared to be.

"He was."

Carley heard the doorknob being grabbed behind her just as Clementine asked another question.

"Is it okay to kill someone if they're bad?"

Again, there was yet another pregnant pause. Carley could just imagine what Lee was going through right now.

"That's, uh, very complicated." He paused again before speaking once more. "It depends, mostly."

"On what they did?" Clementine voiced curiously.

"On..." He tried to find the right words. "If you can handle it," he answered.

Carley released the air of relief. She got up and returned back to her counter; making herself look as busy as possible with her radio. She noted that Sierra stayed by the door, back against the wall. Then, she managed to catch Doug's eyes, but she looked away. She had no doubt that Doug would approach her with questions later.

The reporter watched the ex-convict and the little girl leaving the office room. The soldier placed a hand on his shoulder, indicating a need to talk in private. The man gestured Clementine back to the store floor. Kenny was waving at them. Lee gave a gentle push to Clem, telling her to stay with Kenny. As the girl walked over to Kenny's family, Lee and Sierra went back to the office.

Curiosity got the best of her. Carley approached the door and placed her ear against it.

"Can I help you with something?" Lee asked.

"I am going to make this absolutely clear." Sierra's usual monotonous voice sounded completely different. "I don't trust you," he said. "If there is one misstep, one out of line action, know this: I will not hesitate to jab this knife through your skull." There was an eerie silence that encaptured the two men, until the soldier continued. "Do I make myself clear?" the soldier asked.

"Y-Yes," Lee responded hastily.

"Good. I think that settles the matter. As you were."

Carley had not expected Sierra to threaten Lee outright, but she understood why the action took place. She heard the doorknob jiggle and she rushed back to her radio.

She watched as Lee and Sierra left the office. She saw the nervous face of him as he made his way over to Kenny's family and Clementine. She could see Kenny give Lee a questioning stare.

Though Carley could not hear what they were talking about, she guessed it was about the conversation between the Soldier and the Convict. Carley turned to focus on the radio, still trying to figure out how to make it work. She felt oddly embarrassed at the fact that she couldn't turn it on even with the batteries in.

Still focusing on the radio, Carley didn't notice the Spartan behind her.

"Carley, I need a word in private."

The reporter was slightly spooked by the giant. She could never get over how easily Sierra could sneak up on someone, especially as a man of his stature. Carley nodded her head and they both walked into the employee office.

As they entered the office, Carley had a rough idea of what Sierra needed to say, but she was hoping she was wrong. Sierra closed the door behind him and locked it, earning him a confused glance from the reporter.

"Carley, do you have any idea on how your actions affected the group?" the soldier bluntly asked.

Carley stared at Sierra. She knew this conversation was going to be brought up eventually, but no matter what, she would stand by her decision.

"You can't be serious," she responded. "Not this again!"

"Indeed I am," he replied.

"They had children! Are you honestly saying we should have ignored them?"

"There's a time and a place for everything, Carley. At any given moment, you must consider every single action you take and how it will affect those around you."

Carley blankly stared at the soldier, not understanding how he of all people could not understand her motives. "Are you saying saving these people was a mistake?" she angrily questioned.

Sierra did a motion with head, which Carley assumed was him conveying his frustration.

"That is not what I meant. In moments such as these, your action does not only affect you, but others. You must always consider every single decision."

"You almost sound like Lilly," she accused.

"I was the one who told Lilly to stop you from doing such actions like this," the Spartan admitted.

There was a pregnant silence amidst them. Hurt flashed on Carley's face at the idea that Sierra did not trust her. The thought hurt her more than it should have.

Sierra sighed. He did not want to demoralise the reporter, but she needed to know that she could no longer make such brash decisions.

"It's about survival now," he said calmly, almost tasting the irony in his statement.

Taking a note from Jorge-052, Li placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Still, she lowered her head away in disappointment.

"I understand your actions. You saw people in need, you acted on it, not caring for your own endangerment. You are someone who wants to help others. But recognise that what you do from now on will also affect this group as a whole."

Carley nodded her head, acknowledging Sierra's logical explanation. However, it still left a bad taste in her mouth.

"Thank you for understanding, Carley," Sierra said before continuing. "There is another reason I brought you here."

Sierra slung his rucksack and brought out two handguns; one was a revolver and the other was a Glock 17.

The reporter gaped at the guns before her. "Where did you get these?"

"I procured them from a rather unruly group," was all the soldier said, not wanting to further his explanation.

An unsettling feeling cropped up from her gut. She hoped that whatever her gut was saying was untrue. Trying to ignore the feeling, she asked, "What do you want to do with these guns?"

"When I obtained these firearms, I was going to share them with one of the members of our group. However, since we have new people, I thought against the idea of bringing it up. If I were to hand them to only the original members, the others would most likely be upset. Therefore, it would cause tension amongst us, and I would rather not have further divergence," the giant explained.

"So what will you do with these guns, then? And why tell me?"

"I trust you, that is why, Carley. I trust you enough with this information because, while your previous actions were questionable, nevertheless, you are someone without ties here and you're most likely the most level-headed."

Her cheeks reddened at the soldier's statement, and a smile appeared on her lips. A sign of recognition was placed on her and she was happy to form it.

The giant continued, "With what I am going to do with these guns, I will determine later. At the moment, I do not want the others to know about this. So I will ask that you keep this between us."

"You got it chief," she replied.

The giant appreciated Carley's secrecy. He then walked to the door, unlocked it, and headed back out to the store.

The reporter, however, continued to fixate on where Sierra once was. still having that smile and cheeks red as ever. Her chest beat a little faster from the word he said to her. Shaking her head, she too left the office.

She soon made her way to Doug when she got back. "You ready to switch out?" Carley asked as she approached him.

"No, not yet." He shook his head, the wipe of straw-hued hair on his head sodden with sweat. He gestured for her to peek out the boarded up windows, but she got a feeling he didn't intend to show her the circus of undead parading the streets.

"What was that about?" he whispered to her.

"What?" she answered back.

"You know what. What did Sierra say to you when you went into the back room?"

"He's worried about what I did that led to these new survivors joining us," she answered. "He told me that I need to be more cautious of my actions."

Doug glanced at their guardian angel and back to Carley. "I suppose he's kinda right about that. But come on, they had children with them."

"I know," she stated.

"Another thing; that guy, Lee, what did he say to you when you went to the office? You didn't look so good when you came out. Do you know him from somewhere?"

Carley bit the inside of her lip, uncertain on what to say. "I appreciate the concern, Doug."

"Yeah?"

"But don't worry about it."

Doug grimaced at Carley's tone, doing a terrible job at hiding his unease. He was trying, she could tell, as he stole not so subtle glances in her direction while she faked staring past the window blinds.

"Look," Doug said, "I can't take him on, not in words and definitely not in a fight, and I'm not looking for either. But we're all in this together. If there's something that's going to cause a drift for all of us, I think the group has a right to know."

Carley smirked softly and Doug mirrored the act. She would have liked to tell him, of course. But she couldn't. Carley needed to keep who Lee really was a secret.

It wasn't anything new to her, keeping secrets. While her profession as a reporter was based on simply that -revealing information to the general public- she found a unique benefit in being in the know; that sometimes if you keep your mouth shut, you get more data. It was basic journalism. Protect your sources. Keep your promises. And most importantly, don't make promises you can't keep. Even though secrecy surely wasn't going to get her far when survival odds increased with group cooperation, there were things bigger than maintaining individual and personal relationships. God knows she sacrificed numerous good relationships -both professional and personal- by compromising integrity. And as much as she liked Doug, friendship meant nothing if it meant guilt was slowly eating her away for being responsible for the deaths of a man and a little girl.

"Thanks, Doug," she said.

He nodded and went back to his previous post, watching carefully if anything were to happen.

"You sure you don't want to switch out?"

"I'm good," he chuckled softly. "Door watching ain't exactly the most tiring job, that's for sure. But I guess it's necessary."

Carley nodded, and out the corner of her eye, she saw Lee approaching.

"I'll get back to you, Doug. Gonna go check on the radio. Come get me if you want to switch."

She made eye contact with Lee as they both approached the counter with the radio.

"Hey there," he said. He was amicable, as if the exchange with Sierra did not phase him, or at least he tried to look like it. "It's still not working?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said in frustration. "The damn thing still isn't working."

"Let me have a look," Lee offered.

"Go ahead."

She watched as Lee flipped the batteries in the radio. She saw the curl of his lips and the furrow of his brow that indicated he was amused. Carley felt rather intellectually incompetent at the moment when she realized her mistake.

"You fixed it," she said, fake enthusiasm in her voice. She hoped it was enough to fool him as Lee pressed the power button. A familiar voice suddenly erupted to life from the radio.

"As the unknown contagion continues to spread unchecked, the estimated death toll continues to skyrocket," the announcer said. "WABE urges you to stay indoors and avoid contact with individuals you suspect may have been exposed."

"The station is okay!" Carley cheered enthusiastically, instantly recognizing the voice which belonged to her co-worker, Steve.

"In the event of a full, uh... my producer is telling me we have to get off the air."

"Steve," she heard herself say, barely a whisper. Screams and static emitted from the radio; attracting the attention from the rest of the group.

"WABE wishes you and your loved ones-"

"Steve..." She whispered once more, gripping the radio as more high pitched static screamed through.

"God bless you all. God bless the United States of Amer-" Steve said before the station was immediately cut off.

No, she wanted to scream. Carley couldn't think, she couldn't process what had happened. She just stared at the radio in disbelief. Her fingers were at the dial, ready to change the station, yet she couldn't. Her fingers were locked, unable to twist the knob. As much as she wanted to know more about how the rest of the city was doing, or country, hell, how the world faired, she just couldn't believe WABE would sign off so quickly. They were the voice, they were the news, and yet it wasn't enough.

Carley continued to stare blankly at the radio. Steve was her mentor, he was a veteran on the field, both on radio and TV. He was the talent that everyone hoped to be. Yet, he chose her, took her under his wing, guided her when she was a basic intern. He let her prove her worth to the studio and affirm her position as a reporter. Steve was the only one to believe in her when no one else would. She received her first gig as a reporter because of him, a field reporter in the middle east. Even with the backlash from Dave, Steve fought for her to stay.

She felt nauseous, she couldn't breathe. A hand gripped her shoulder, snapping her out of her daze.

"That radio sign off didn't sound so good," Lee voiced, concern laced in his eyes. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she quickly answered.

"You don't have to be." His tone of voice was kind. "It's traumatic."

"I'm sure people got out," Carley responded. "Maybe they were all rescued." She wanted to be optimistic. She had to think they were all alright. "But then again, maybe not," she continued, mostly to herself.

Lee removed his hand from her shoulder and leaned on the counter. "Story of the century, huh?" he said, shaking his head.

"Yeah." A small chuckle escaped her lips. "And I've got shit for recording equipment. By the looks of it, there isn't going to be a shortage of first-hand accounts."

They both looked around at their small party. It was without saying that there were more out there; surviving.

"You do radio?" Lee asked, breaking the silence.

"Radio, TV, articles, you name it and I'll probably have done it."

"Really? I'm guessing you're part of WABE?" Lee concluded.

"Yeah," she answered sorrowfully.

"What were you doing before all of this?" Lee asked, trying to change the subject.

"I was in town for the annual Cherry Blossom festival, just trying to get a break from all the bullshit from the station." Carley sighed, reminiscing what felt like an eternity ago, but was only yesterday.

"Would you rather be at the station?" he asked.

"I-I honestly don't know." Carley glanced at the radio, silently wishing it would come back on the air. "It sounded like they were hit pretty badly," she said. "I don't know if I would have made it."

"For what it's worth, I'm glad you're here," Lee said.

She thought he was being unusual, given what she knew about him. The scepticism was ever present on her face, which made Lee quickly withdraw.

"I better get back to it."

Unsure of what to say, Carley just nodded.

"Thanks, by the way," Lee said, glancing at her once more, his grin reappearing. They both knew what he was referring to, and he seemed to have said it to reassure her that he was grateful. Perhaps, Carley thought, he was convinced that she accepted his past. Perhaps that gave him optimism that the others would too; if they were to ever find out.

"Don't mention it, just remember what I said," she replied.

"Yeah. I will." And he was off to Kenny's family.

* * *

I hope you guys enjoyed that and I know this chapter might be familiar well this is basically the first episode of the first game, but in the perspective of Carley. Anyways please review, follow, and favorite. Till next time!


	6. Chapter 6

Hey everyone! It's me again, sorry for the long ass wait for the update. Some issues came along with real life and school was a pain in the ass. I would like to thank my Betas the Spliced-up-Angel and introduce my new betas Flame Falcon and Scarred. They both have amazing stories and you should definitely check them out.

Also one last thing, but I have been tinkering with a new crossover between Warhammer 40K and Mass Effect, a prologue/teaser is out. The story is called "Exodus of the Damned." Definitely worth checking out if you're interested.

Anyways without further annoyance from me, enjoy the latest chapter.

* * *

The Spartan watched the entire exchange intently. Expecting the felon, Lee, to try something, but he didn't. It seemed the man was overly friendly. Maybe it was due to him threatening him or Carley's potentially revealing his secret. Whatever it was, it kept him in line, which he was grateful because he had enough to worry about.

Li glanced at Lilly, still hovering over her father. He could see the panic-stricken eyes of hers. Wherever the keys were, he hoped they would turn up soon. He would rather not have to kill Larry in front of Lilly.

The Spartan's attention was now focused on Clementine's radio. The sudden sound drew everyone's attention. Glenn's voice sounded like he was struggling.

"Hey there, this is Glenn," he started, "And, uh, I'm kinda in a jam here. Uh, little girl, if you're there, can you put your daddy on the phone? Or on the talkie or whatever?"

The little girl, Clementine, handed the talkie over to Lee.

"Lee here," he said. "What's going on?"

"So... I am down in the motor inn and well, I-I'm stuck."

"Stuck?"

"Yeah, I, uh, saw a chance to get more supplies for the group and a bunch of walkers got the jump on me. I'm hiding over here but they won't leave."

The soldier shook his head. He specifically told Glenn not to take any risks. He sighed. It looked like he might have to save him.

The Spartan watched as everyone's expression changed to one of concern and worry. The father of the still shell-shocked boy, Kenny, stepped forward.

"What's up?" Kenny asked.

"Glenn's trapped down at the motor inn," Lee answered. To the talkie, he said, "Glenn, we're going talk it over and send a group to come get you, alright?"

Glenn sighed in relief. "Awesome, I'll sit tight 'till then."

"Sound's good." Lee exhaled and turned to Clementine. "I'm going to hold on to this until we get Glenn back, okay? I'll take good care of it."

The little girl nodded in response.

"What do you think?" Kenny inquired.

"I think Doug's not great around those things, and you've got your family here," Lee answered.

The Spartan applauded the man for being able to quickly rule out those who were no help to the situation at hand. He continued to watch the interaction unfold before him. The man, Lee, was now looking for volunteers for the rescue mission.

"I'll do it." Li stepped forward.

The ex-convict, Lee, looked at Kenny, who just shrugged. "Alright, anyone else?" Lee glanced around at everyone.

"I'll go too," Carley quickly answered.

Lee nodded in appreciation. "Okay that settles-"

Before Lee could finish, Lilly stepped in, "No absolutely not." That earned her a few questioning stares. "Carley and Sierra are the only ones with the guns in this group. So we need at least one of them to stay here," she elaborated.

Li noticed that Carley gave a quick peek in his direction, most likely due to him having the firearms he procured from the youngsters he killed earlier.

"I think Sierra should stay here," Lilly continued. "He's already done enough as it is. I think he should rest up for a bit."

"Don't worry about me, ma'am."

Lilly and Carley looked at each other, both understanding what must be done. "Lilly's right. You should stay here and rest up," Carley spoke with sincerity. "Let us handle for a change."

Li eyed the two brunettes, "Very well," he concluded. "But I must insist that if there comes any trouble that you cannot get out of, do not hesitate to call for backup." It was nice seeing the two of them work together, Li thought.

"Alright, I suppose that settles it now," Lee said. "I'll take Carley and head down to the motor inn, get Glenn back here as fast I can."

Soon everyone agreed to the plan Lee made. Though Li felt uneasy by it, he kept quiet about it to see if this man could prove his worth.

"Let me know when you are ready to head out," said Lee.

Carley approached the Spartan. He noted the conflicted expression she wore. "Hey, Sierra, I know you still don't trust these guys yet, but do you think we can borrow one of those guns?" she whispered to him.

The giant contemplated the idea but quickly shot it down. "No," he bluntly said. "Not yet anyway."

Even though her face had an expression of understanding, her eyes told a different story. "I figured as much," she said underneath her breath.

Li placed a hand on her shoulder, which caught her by surprise. "Good luck and try not to do anything risky."

A grin rose to her lips, "Don't worry. I won't," she promised.

The Spartan-II removed his hand and watch the two exit out through the back. He hoped that nothing would happen that would risk their lives. He surveyed his surroundings: Lilly was still desperately hunched over to help her father; Larry was still in his pathetic state; Doug was still on watch, how useful that can be was anybody's guess; the little girl, Clementine was her name, had a sense of panic and worry about her, most likely due to her guardian leaving to save Glenn; Kenny still trying to reassure his family—his boy still looked shell-shocked. The son would probably die within a few days if not protected. Then the mother, Katjaa, still mollycoddling the child.

He mentally sighed, this predicament he was in was getting a lot more complicated.

Li examined the family closer, maybe he should inform them about a better alternative to protecting their child. Though Kenny would most likely still be hostile towards the soldier, he did not mind. They had a right to know. He was, however, curious about Katjaa's reaction.

He walked to the family. Kenny glared at him, which was no surprise to him. Katjaa, on the other hand, gave the Spartan a warm welcoming smile.

"Is there something we can help you with, Sierra?" said the mother, her tone matching her warm smile.

"Indeed, there is. ma'am." The soldier directed his attention to the son. "It's pertaining to your child."

The warm smile on her face lowered, her eyes full of concern. However, the boy's father answered first. "What the hell you on about?"

Katjaa quickly silenced her husband rude comment with a stern stare. "And what does my little boy have to do with you?"

"Well, as both of you are aware, the situation is not a healthy environment to raise a normal child. With the possibility that your son- " Li paused, trying to remember the boy's name. "I do apologise, but what is his name again?"

"Duck," was what Kenny said, his tone harsh.

The Spartan viewed the family, slightly disturbed to have called their only child Duck. He shook off the thought and continued.

"Well, I believe due to the current circumstances, we are all in, Duck as well as Clementine, will not have a normal childhood."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Kenny asked, wanting to cut to the chase.

"I am agreement with my husband on this one," responded Katjaa.

"What I am trying to elaborate on is that these children would need to be brought up with survivability as a forefront. Not playtime and such. They will need to learn how to fight for themselves, to protect themselves, without the guidance of their parents or guardian," Li stated.

"And how do you know that?" questioned Kenny.

This time Katjaa remained silent, displaying she was in deep thought.

"Look around you. You will see nothing but destruction. Society has collapsed, and it is our duty to help the next generation to live."

Both parents gave a look of doubt and exasperation.

"What about the military? The government?" asked Katjaa. "There has to be some semblance of help?"

"We just heard gunfire not too long ago. That could have been the military," Kenny pointed out, still rather unsure.

"That might be true but I concur that given time, anarchy will reign over. The possibility of help ever coming is slim to none. And if this is a global scale than all semblance of order will be gone." Li noticed the expression of horror slowly rising. "This is why I implore you to take measures in case the possibility of your sudden demise. The children would have the necessary mindset before them, if such a predicament were to happen."

"But-But it doesn't seem right," Katjaa insisted, "to rob them of their childhood."

"The idea of childhood is based on the idea of what the child believes. To them, this will be their childhood. Though, I understand your concern." Li eyed the couple and then their child. He remembered his early years in training during the Spartan-II programme. How harsh it was, the brutality of how they were all brought up. They were given the best mankind had to offer, for them to receive it they also must be the best of humanity. To be their guardian, their shield and sword. The duty to protect humanity in their darkest hour. To many, they would likely think what he went through as inhumane, but who else would do it? Li would never give up what he went through, because if not for his family, mankind would be defenceless.

Li focused on the boy. This time these children now need to know about survivability for themselves. He turned his attention back to the parents. "But what choice do you have? There will come a time where you cannot protect your child and he would have to learn about this on his own."

The parents grimaced at such an idea. They looked and stared at their only child, Duck, contemplating such a world. It was Kenny who spoke first, his voice full of hesitation, instead of animosity. "I- We will think about what you said." His tone was low, meek even.

"Thank you for your consideration," Li said firmly. "I know this is no easy decision."

"No, thank you. What you said had to be said sooner or later," Katjaa expressed sadly.

The Spartan thanked the family once more before he made his way to Clementine, his thoughts slowly wondering to whether Carley and Lee rescued Glenn yet.

* * *

Lee's eyes wandered to Carley, as they made their way to the motor inn. He couldn't comprehend why she would keep his past a secret. For whatever reason, she didn't strike him as someone who could keep a big secret.

Then again, she did take precaution by informing the tall-ass soldier. An irking question was present on his mind ever since that guy showed up. It got worse as the others explained what that man could do. The professor was a logical man, or he once was one, so for them to say he took out multiples of those things by himself seemed impossible.

He refocused his attention on the reporter. Since they were alone, she might shed some more light on the topic. "So, how'd you end up here?" His voice trailed off, not knowing how to start.

Carley gave him a questioning glance.

"You know just starting conversation," Lee said awkwardly. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

Carley giggled softly. "It's fine. I mentioned earlier that I was in Macon for the annual Cherry Blossom festival. I know interesting stuff, right?" she said sarcastically.

"Well, it beats what I was doing. I was in the back of a police car," he joked.

"Yeah, I guess so." She laughed. "I was dealing with such bullshit at the office. I was being punished for something, so one of my producers canned me with that gig." The laughter went, and a scowl showed on her face.

"That must have sucked," replied Lee.

She snorted in agreement. "Anyway, we made it to Macon and we all got set up…" she paused, her face full of sorrow. "I was in a middle of an interview when those fucking things attacked us." She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. "They ate my crew and I just sat there doing nothing." Her voice quivered, not wanting to remember such an incident.

Lee reached out to her, giving a comforting hand. "Hey, it's okay," he said.

Carley shook off his gesture. "I'm fine," she said stubbornly. "I would have died if not for Sierra saving me," she admitted.

Lee wanted to let her know she wasn't, but he let it go. However, he saw this as an opportunity to learn more about the soldier. "Speaking of Sierra, what's with him?" he asked, his tone much harsher than it should have been.

The reporter stopped walking, turned to him, and said, "whatever you have against him has to end now, because, that man is someone you do not want to mess with. If you hadn't taken what me and Lilly said seriously then you are gravely mistaken. That man puts the lives of others before him and he will not hesitate to do what's necessary." She sneered. "He's probably a lot better man than you."

The ex-convict glared at her, unprepared for such a blunt statement. He opened his mouth to retort but only a stutter of an apology came out.

The reporter sighed, a frustrated hand ran through her hair. "I… look, I didn't mean it like that. It's just that man did a great many things for us in such a short amount of time before you guys even showed up."

Lee responded, "I understand that. Don't worry."

"Thanks. Let's just get this over with," Carley replied back.

They trailed the way in silence, neither one wanting to bother the other, passing by various torn up areas. Lee viewed his surroundings; a look of past chaos was presented before them. Cars were flipped over, destroyed, rammed into buildings. Houses were in ruin, entire neighborhoods abandoned, and the dead spread everywhere. In the past couple of days, things have gotten this bad, and Lee couldn't wrap his mind around such a possibility, and by the looks of it, neither could Carley.

"You ever think things can get back to what it used to be?" she asked, a bit desperate.

Lee glimpsed at her and back at the carnage before him. "I honestly don't know," he whispered.

They stood there in complete silence, mesmerized by the unruly fate that was bestowed upon them. A wave of minor understanding washed over them. And soon they were on their way, having wasted enough time on the collapse of civilization.

After a good amount of walking, they were getting closer. This time, it was Carley who asked a question to Lee. "Did you mean to stop by Macon?"

There was a slight pause in his step before he continued forward. "We drove the truck as far as it could go," he answered, his tone clear and monotone. There was another pause, he chewed the inside of his cheek, considering what to say next. "We were for the most part lucky to have stopped by the store," he said. "I wanted to see -" he wavered on knowing what to say next, finally settling with "-I wanted to see my family were okay."

"I'm sorry," Carley said softly, sadden by his admission.

The ex-convict looked at her with a sad smile on his face. "Don't be." His voice was low, tired of days past. "Come on, we should hurry and find Glenn. He must be really scared right now," he said, trying to change the mood.

They jogged at a faster pace, hurrying to reach Glenn. When they finally saw the neon sign of the motel, they stopped to take a quick breath.

"We're here," Lee announced.

"Alright," Carley responded. "Now where's Glenn?"

Lee was about to take out the walkie-talkie when he saw a walker get up right in front of him.

"Shit! Get down!"

They both immediately ducked down, unsure of what to do next. Lee noticed how quickly the reporter pulled out her gun. They peaked around the corner and noticed how the inn was covered by walkers.

He and Carley exchanged glances, each conveying a silent heart-pounding moment, praying that they find Glenn soon. Then, they heard a noise. The reporter instantly pointed her gun at the ice machine. Lee stared at the cooler, hoping that they wouldn't have to use the firearm since it'll attract the undead to their presence.

Carley readied herself, her hands shaking a little, the anticipation frightening her. But suddenly Glenn came out of the freezer, his face covered in relief. "Guys! Oh, man, I'm glad you're here."

Carley shook her head, exasperated, "Jesus, Glenn!"

Lee, however, smiled in alleviation. "Alright, that wasn't so hard."

Carley, still irritated by moments prior, hastily said, "can we get out of here before any of these things notice us?"

Nonetheless, Glenn had other ideas. "Not yet." He directed their attention to one of the rooms. "There's a survivor someone trapped up there."

Carley frowned, remembering Sierra's words before they left. "No. No way, we gotta go. NOW."

Glenn, still not wavering on his opinion, said, "listen, I was out here looking for gas. And then, up there in the corner room, I heard crying coming inside."

Lee said, "who is it?" He didn't seem bothered by the dangers ahead. He saw an opportunity to help someone and ignored the dangers.

Glenn looked nervous, unsure of what to say next. "It's a girl. We talked and she got frightened. I was trying to get in and help her and she started yelling and saying I was bitten." He paused to glance at the door and back to Lee and Carley. "I tried convincing her I wasn't and that's when all these guys came out of the forest. A couple of them almost got me and I ended up hiding in the ice machine."

Carley, still not budging said, "Lucky you; now let's go."

Glenn, although, pressed, not wanting to give up on the individual. "We can't just leave her."

Lee agreed, "damn right we can't."

The reporter looked baffled at the two. "Remember what Sierra said? No heroics!" she insisted, not wanting to further anger their guardian angel. "Sierra would be furious about this! So would Lilly!"

The delivery boy stared straight at her. "That didn't stop you from saving Lee and his group." Knowing this would get through to her.

Carley stood there in sheer silence, unsure what to say to that. "You guys are suicidal. Over a girl!" she persisted.

Glenn, having already made up his mind, said, "I'm saving her, with or without you." An ultimatum.

Lee watched them argue, finally giving his opinion. "Think about if it was you." He knew that leaving that girl was wrong and his conscience wouldn't take it, and he knew neither would Carley.

Carley slowly shook her head, giving in to their insane plan. "Fine. Let's go save Glenn's damsel in distress."

They all turned to the inner motel, now determined to save the girl. Though, how they would do it was another matter entirely.

* * *

The three of them finally reached the entrance of the crying survivor. Lee glanced at his partners, and they nodded. The professor knocked on the door. "Hello in there? We're here to help."

The girl inside yelled back in distress. "Please go away!"

Carley, not in the mood to continue this, stated, "let's go, guys."

Lee, on the other hand, still wanted to persist. "In a minute." He turned back to the door. "If you open up, we can take you somewhere safer. We've got a group in town," he said, trying to appease the girl inside.

The response he got was unexpected. "No, no, NO! Please, NO!"

Through the confusion, Glenn hastily spouted out, "she's in trouble!"

The ex-convict promptly brought out his axe. "Miss! We're coming in!" He cut down the piece of board that blocked the door. Then, he tried opening the door after. When it didn't work, he struck the door again.

"Stop, just stop. I'm coming out."

Lee heard the door unlock, and was surprised to see the girl walk out, sickly pale and injured. "You're hurt."

"Oh god." Lee heard Carley say.

The girl had a dreadful demeanor. "I… I said stay away." Her voice was weak, barely reaching their ears.

"We need to get you some help," Glenn said bashfully.

The woman shook her head. "It's too late for that."

The reporter finally noticed something about her. "Guys, she's been bitten," she said softly.

That caught the attention of her companions. "What?!" they both blurted out.

The infected girl gave them a serious stare. "I told you. I said go away, I was bit. But you wouldn't just leave."

Lee watched the girl, uncertain what to do. "Let's calm down," he tried to urge. "You could be fine."

"I won't be fine," she said, almost demanding it. "My boyfriend was bit. You get sick and you die and you come back and you kill everything you can find." Her demanding tone was filled with such knowing desperation of her end.

"You have a boyfriend," Glenn expressed sorrowfully.

A look of disgust was present on Carley's face. "GLENN!"

The infected girl continued, pleading, helpless, "I don't want that. It's not Christian. Please, just leave me, please go."

"Come with us and we'll find you some help," Lee said, almost trying to deny the truth before him.

However, the infected survivor had other ideas. She saw the Glock that Carley was holding. She spoke in slight disbelief, "you have a gun."

Carley swiftly hid her pistol behind her. "So?" she asked, unsure of her intent.

"Can I borrow it?" she asked.

A look of confusion ran across Carley's face. "What do you mean 'borrow'?" A sinking suspicion started to rise from Lee's stomach, upon hearing those words.

A sense of manic desperation took hold of the girl. "Give it to me, I can just- you know, end this and then-then there's no problem."

Lee immediately shot down that idea. "Whoa, whoa, whoa…"

The infected survivor had a deranged presence to her now. "Please! I don't want to be one of them. They're… they're… Satanic," she said, anguished.

There was a momentary silence that filled the group, each unsure of how to proceed. Lee peeked at his two partners. Glenn had an appearance of grief, while Carley had a similar expression. Lee brought his attention back to the woman before him. He sighed, not only in frustration, but also in dread. "We can't let you do that to yourself."

"Then do it for me!" she declared ruefully.

"We need to get going," Carley stated hurriedly, not liking where the conversation was leading too.

The girl, her delirium increasing, yelled, "give it to me, PLEASE!"

"This is crazy!" Glenn said to her.

Carley tried to calm her down. "Please, step back."

Despite their attempts, the lady slowly approached the reporter. "It's just two seconds." Her voice was filled with manic plea. "Just one bullet and I can be with my family, and it'll all be fine," she said, trying her best to convince them and still walking toward Carley.

The reporter started to back away from the crazed woman, trying to be out of the desperate girl's reach, and looked at her with a scared expression. "Back up," Carley said, but it was too late, as the infected woman tried to quickly reach for her gun.

"PLEASE!" She yelled, lunging for Carley's gun.

The two girls fought desperately for control. The infected girl kept pushing her back, while Carley tried fiercely to stop her without hurting her further. Soon ,Lee and Glenn joined in trying to stop her. Eventually, with the continuous struggle for control, the patio collapsed.

The Glock, as well as everyone else, fell to the ground. Lee and his group were in a daze and slowly got up. They looked around for the gun and the infected survivor, and saw her pick up the pistol. Lee brought up his arms, trying to calm her down. "Whoa, take it easy," he said, terrified of what might come next. "We just want to help."

The woman started backing up, glancing at the gun and back to them. "You can't," she said, her voice monotone, realizing this was the end. She brought the gun to her head, her hands shaking.

Lee faced the girl with urgency, trying his best, but he didn't know what to say next. He glanced at his companions who had the same appearance. "Miss," he started, with anguish, "just relax now…" His words came out with a terrified tone. "You need to think this through… We'll find you a doctor, it'll be okay, let's all just…" However, it was too late, the girl gave them a sorrowful smile, and shot herself. "NO, NO, NO, NO!" Lee yelled, quickly rushing over toward the girl. He stared at her corpse, a smile on her face, seemingly happy that she made the decision. He closed her eyes. Glenn, right behind him, grabbed the gun and stared at it, until he couldn't hold it anymore. He vomited all over the ground.

"Let's get out of here," Carley voiced, mournfully.

Then, they heard a gathering of walkers slowly making their way toward them.

* * *

Glenn slammed his foot on the accelerator of his early 2000's sedan. All three of them flew various directions as the car skewed twice before finally settling down. The road ahead was straight and with no hindrance.

Glenn's breathing was rapid and heavy. His heart beating with such intensity that it felt like it would explode at any given moment. He fidgeted in his seat, constantly peeking at his rearview mirror. Adrenaline rushed through his veins. He tried to concentrate on the road ahead.

"We're okay," Lee said, still sounding as if in disbelief.

"We're okay," Glenn repeated to himself. "We're okay." His knuckles were bone white, gripping the wheel with uncertainty. His fingers trembled from the anxiety.

"It's my fault," he blurted out. "I thought she said I was bitten not that she was bitten. Fuck - I just- I was being such a stupid asshole."

"You weren't being stupid," Lee said. "You just misheard her, so you went to help."

Glenn, however, wasn't taking any of that, still feeling the uneasiness his actions caused. "At what cost? Our lives?" he shouted at them. "We didn't have anything quiet for this. Yeah, we took a few of them down but what if something went wrong?" The delivery boy shook his head in sad admission. "Carley was right - we should've gotten out when we could. What I did was suicidal."

"We are all suicidal for something, Glenn," Carley said, retracting what she said earlier. She looked at Lee for help and alerting him to bounce in.

"She didn't need our help," Glenn answered, with self-loathing.

"No," Lee said slowly, debating to say the correct thing, haunted by his earlier words. "She may not have wanted it, but she needed it." The confidence in his words waned.

"Yeah! Of course! To fucking kill herself!" Glenn harshly blurted out.

"That's not what he meant," Carley cut in.

Glenn's pale face gradually started to regain his colour. He sighed, "Sierra was right. I should have listened to him." He looked at the two. "No heroics," he repeated the words to himself in a meek whisper.

"We were the last people she ever saw," Lee said. "It might not mean much but nobody deserves to die alone like that."

Glenn stayed reticent, completely unsure of how to respond. He nodded in a dreadful manner. His focus now on the road before him. The rest of the car ride stayed in an eerie silence.

They finally arrived at the drugstore, entering the back alleyway where the back entrance was. They exited the car, but Lee glanced at Glenn and chewed his lip. "Glenn," Lee started, "whatever you're thinking, know this, what you did was really noble, and I'm glad you're with us."

He just stared at the man and whispered a "thanks" before trying to head back inside the store. Carley quickly stopped him from getting inside.

"Lee, let Lilly and Kenny know we're back," Carley said. Lee acknowledged her and headed back inside.

"Glenn," the reporter started, her voice quiet, "what I said earlier about leaving you behind… I didn't mean it."

"It doesn't matter," he admitted. "I was going to try and save her with or without your help."

Carley looked away from him for a brief second. The look of regret was on her face.

"I don't think you're selfish," Glenn stated, easily reading what she thought.

"I just…" Her voice was low, weak, uncertainty clouding her mind. "I thought with everything that has happened and what Sierra said… I just thought I was looking out for us."

"You were," he answered truthfully.

They stared at each other with a sense of understanding before heading back inside.

* * *

The Spartan eyed the return of his compatriots with Glenn in tow no less. A small sense of relief washed over him. He was glad they were able to return safely.

He watched the man with the similar name to himself, Lee, go forth and inform the situation beforehand to Kenny. However, something caught his attention. Apparently, something occurred at the motor inn, considering the way Glenn swayed his head and avoided the attention of the rest of the group, how Carley's voice was low and not her usual tone. The Spartan had no doubt in his mind something happened.

He continued to observe Lee as Glenn and Carley dispersed to their respected spots. Li, the Spartan-II commando, overheard the hushed and private conversation of Lee and Glenn. His sinking suspicion on what conspired at the motor inn was correct. The way they talked, they had met someone, and Glenn tried to help. Li sighed, as he knew Glenn would do this, even with what he told him. It'll probably be the death of him, the soldier thought worryingly. Be that as it may, he needed to know what exactly occurred at the inn.

The giant waited until Lee and Doug went outside, which was another matter entirely to deal with. Li approached Glenn. "What transpired at the motor inn?" he said without any caution.

Glenn was completely startled by the soldier's sudden appearance and answered with a confused, "What?"

"What transpired at the inn?" Li repeated with a much sterner tone.

"We- I" he corrected himself, "Something I did almost got us killed," he admitted.

Li stared down the Korean, under his helmet a frown was present on his face. "Explain."

With one word, Glenn felt he caused such disappointment to the storm trooper. "I uh," he said, hesitant and not sure on how to start. He took several deep breaths before continuing, "There was this girl stuck inside one of the rooms of the inn. When Lee and Carley picked me up, I suggested we save her. Even though the area was covered with geeks, I still wanted to. But Carley insisted that we go back, that we shouldn't do any "heroics" like you said." Glenn paused, unclear on what to say next. "I forced her to agree with us and we got past the walkers, but…" He took another shaky deep breath. "Turns out she was already bitten, and she wanted to use Carley's gun to you know- off herself." He stared blankly at the giant soldier, his eyes conveying sorrow and regret. "One thing led to another and she got the gun and shot herself. Which alerted the other geeks. We barely escaped."

Li viewed the man before him, no doubt that the foolish endeavour he forced his group to pursue caused such danger. Though, Li had witnessed this before, where soldiers tried rescuing other soldiers and such, most had to do something similar to Glenn's situation. He exhaled, understanding what Glenn had gone through. The Korean's circumstances reminded him of what happened to Daisy. Li quickly shot down that train of thought. "Glenn," he sighed once more, "you must understand that there will be times where you cannot rescue everyone. You will have losses, but you cannot blame yourself for it since it was their choice as well. They decided on that course of action. So, you mustn't blame yourself. That individual wanted an end to her suffering, and you provided it at her hour of need." The Spartan placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Wherever she is, I am certain she is eternally grateful for what you did for her."

Glenn's face lightened, thankful for the words spoken to him. He cast a beholden glance at the giant before nodding his head, which the Spartan returned with his on acknowledgement.

The soldier returned to his previous position, still ever vigilant, before the reporter came over with a face of gratitude. "I heard what you said to Glenn," she said. "I'm glad you said that. Honestly I wasn't expecting that from you."

"Nor I," The giant said, agreeing to her sentiments.

"Really?" she questioned. "You seemed like a natural back there."

"Let us say that I took a page from a brother of mine," he answered his thoughts of Jorge and his unruly demise. The sudden thought caused Li in his moment to actually express some sadness to his words.

Carley, for the first time, was uncertain what to say to him. She had never heard him with such a tone. Happiness gradually contorted to concern, she hesitantly asked, "are you alright?"

Li realised, in that brief instant, as he thought of his brother, more emotion showed. "I am. Do not worry," he said, his tone back to its monotone accent.

However, Carley saw this as an opportunity to finally understand her saviour. "Are you sure?" the reporter bashfully pressed.

"Yes, Miss. Vigil. I am fine. I am, nonetheless, thankful for your interest in my wellbeing."

"If you ever need anything, you know I am here for you," Carley replied shyly.

Li was about to respond, denying her the opportunity, but Lee quickly entered the building with Doug right behind him. Within seconds of catching their breaths, the man announced, "I've got the keys."

"Great! God, you're amazing," Lilly said, her enthusiasm not matching Lee's.

The Spartan was grateful that he did not have to confront Carley's awkward indulgence. The reporter's thankfulness for her saviour was now spanning unnecessary bounds. "It's good that Lee finally found the keys," he said, changing the subject. distracting her. "He's starting to prove his usefulness," he confessed.

"Yeah," she responded.

An abrupt screech interrupted their discussion, and Carley recoiled at the sudden sound. Carley squinted, slouching her shoulders, and abstained from slamming her palms over her ears. The ringing sounded throughout the whole store, and Li figured that the racket would reach far outside the building.

In that short time, Li hurled himself at the door, checking if any undead made their way through, Doug joining him soon after. Carley scrambled rapidly toward her firearm over at the counter. As she checked her magazine for ammunition, Lee and Lilly sprinted out the employee room. The Spartan noticed the pills in Lilly's hand. So, they managed to get inside the pharmacy. Yet, Li had thought that acquiring the keys meant a subtler approach, whatever their attempts in this endeavour caused the alarm. Li cursed silently, not expecting this as part of the plan.

Soon, adrenaline was starting to rush in the group, from the coming mayhem threatening to break in.

"Duck, c'mon baby. Time to go."

"I'm gonna get the truck pulled up 'round back."

"Do it fast! I've got to get my dad out of here!"

"I don't plan on dilly-dallying!" Kenny yelled back, turning around to the others. "Honey, take Duck into the office and barricade the living hell out of the door behind me. Glenn, when you hear me honking in the alley, start getting people out of here."

"Doug, Carley, Lee and Sierra, you guys make sure our defences stay up till then."

The Spartan watched as the civilian issued orders to the rest of the crew, slightly lauding the man in his random step up in leadership in this rather dire situation.

"And Lee, I better take that axe, in case I run into any of them on the way to my truck."

"Here you go!"

"The door is not locked," Li announced. "Why isn't the door locked?" He then grabbed Doug and lifted the fairly obese man with ease. "What happened to the lock?" Doug grimaced, unable to respond quickly, was dropped to the floor with a loud thud.

"Shit," Kenny swore. "You four, get on it. I'll get back here as soon as I can," he said, quickly making his way into the office.

Not being told twice, the super soldier slammed himself at the door, holding off the impending horde. Soon, Doug, Glenn, and Carley joined him to hold the double doors as the first wave of walkers slammed onto the door. Li noted the others' struggle to hold the line. He was about to tell them to go on and that he'll hold down the door, but Katjaa's abrupt scream caught his attention.

"Glenn!" Katjaa cried out from the employee office. "We need your help! Please hurry!"

Lee signalled Glenn to leave and in turn taking his place. Lee threw his back at the door, digging his heels trying his best to hold the line. The walkers were no longer coming in straight pluses. Dozens upon dozens were all advancing, pushing forward in a persistent invert tug of war to get inside the store.

"Hey, Sierra," Doug pated, "if we don't make it through this... you should know that... I think you're a great guy." Then, he looked at Lee. "You too, Lee."

"Belay that thought, Doug," the giant soldier urged. "I will get you all out of this."

"Sierra." This time it was Carley calling him, her voice full of desperation. "If we don't make it-"

"You heard the man!" Lee interrupted. "We are getting through this!" Lee nodded to Li, giving him an acknowledgement of what he said.

The super soldier felt a herd slam from the other side. The undead wasn't letting up. He knew it was only a matter of time before his partners let exhaustion take them. He needed to assess a way to get them out.

But shortly after the window near Doug suddenly shattered, the shelf toppling down. With it, nearly a dozen walkers entered the drug store.

"On it!" the reporter called out, drawing her pistol.

"Carley! Don't!" the Spartan yelled, but it was too late; Carley fired her gun.

"Oh, shit!" yelled Lee.

A greater amount of undead swarmed to the compromised window. Carley dropped two more of them with the snappy pull of her trigger, evoking screams of surprise from both Doug and Lee. She dashed away, quickly abandoning her position, trusting that the rest of them can handle it. She sprung for the counter, snatching an extra magazine in her satchel, and quickly hunted for a superior point- one that didn't put her group in the line of sight.

Carley fired the trigger again and again, ignoring Sierra's vocal opinion not to. Li watched as his team struggled with the incoming horde. He listened as Lee called out to Clementine, asking her to find something quickly to hold the door. Then, another wave hammered down upon them.

"Doug!" the Spartan called out. "Get to the other window."

The man hastily rushed to the other window. Soon after, Clementine brought a crane to them. Lee promptly placed it in between the handles, giving them a momentary pause. "Lee, go to Carley, NOW!" the soldier ordered.

The black man hesitated at Sierra's order. "Do I look like I have the time to explain? Just go." Without further inquiry from the man, he rushed to Carley's aid, just in time too, because her Glock had ran out of ammo.

"Ammo! In my purse!" she cried, desperately trying to reach her bag as a walker grabbed a hold of her leg. Lee rushed to hand her ammo. Then she immediately disposed of the incoming walkers.

The super soldier heard a scream from Doug. "Get off, get OFF!"

Sierra yanked Doug from his dangerous position. Words of gratitude echoed from his mouth.

Kenny erupted through the office door. "Let's GO!" he yelled, then hurrying back inside the office.

Not needing to be told twice, Lee, Doug, Carley, and Clementine hurried to the exit. Clementine, not realising a walker got in, got her leg grabbed, and screams alerted Lee to her imminent danger. The man stomped the head of the walker repeatedly. However, it wouldn't cave. A bullet flew past him, and blood soon splattered on the surrounding area. The professor turned to see the soldier holding his M6C, aimed at the now dead walker. A silent thank you was passed to him. The soldier started to shoot at the incoming walkers. "Run, you fools!" Li ordered at the two.

The little girl rushed to the office with Lee in tow but was stopped by Larry. The Spartan stared confusingly at the veteran, before the older man spoke words of anger, "You're not coming with us, you son of a bitch!" He promptly suckered punched Lee, knocking him to the ground.

The giant soldier couldn't believe the old fool would let his animosity and pettiness get a hold of him. Whatever respect he had for the older soldier was now gone as he made his way to the down man. Kenny materialised in an instant, grasping hold of Lee and helping him. "I'm not letting somebody get eaten today." Kenny hoisted Lee up. "Especially a good friend."

The professor turned and noticed the herd that made its way in.

"GO!" the Spartan said. "I'll hold them off."

"But," the man tried arguing.

"GO! DO NOT QUESTION MY ORDERS!" the Spartan yelled.

Lee yelped and ran away to the others, but before he could, he heard a sizzling noise of activation, causing him to peek over his shoulder. What he saw almost made him stop.

He saw the giant, the behemoth, before him cutting down undead after undead like it was nothing, with some sort of wrist-mounted energy dagger. His shock evaporated when a walker almost got to him. The professor quickly left to catch up to the others, not trying to be left behind. He still heard the sound of cracking bone and swift cutting noises behind him. Unbeknownst to him, the soldier was grinning from ear to ear, revelling in the carnage.

* * *

The ex-convict made his way inside Kenny's truck. A confused glance was given. "Wait! Give him a minute," Lee hastily urged.

They waited for a moment, but soon they realized that they were going to be surrounded by walkers. "Where is he?!" the Floridian asked. "We have to go now!"

"But- But what about Sierra?" Lee asked.

Katjaa, in the front seat, argued, "No time! Kenny, just drive!" She huddled her son closer to her.

Kenny nodded grimly. "He said he'll catch up, right?" Not waiting for a response, he continued, "we'll just have to meet him up at the motor inn!"

Not wanting to further endanger his family, Kenny floored the accelerator, driving off to the motel.

When they finally got to the inn, the rest of the survivors already started cleaning up the place. Kenny parked the truck, and the group slowly gathered around the vehicle. A sense of relief was in the air, but as they realized that they were a member missing, it brought a force of panic.

"Where's Sierra?" Carley inquired exasperatedly, looking over their shoulders, hoping he was in the car or behind them.

Lilly stepped in, also wondering the same thing. She asked the same question as Carley.

Kenny turned to Lee, hoping he would answer their queries. "I-" the professor started, unsure how to explain what he saw. "He told me to go without him, that he'll catch up to us at the motor inn." His voice shook from what he witnessed.

A dreadful demeanour was on both brunette's faces. "You left him behind!" Lilly accused. "You never liked him the moment you saw him!"

Lee stood there, trying to refute Lilly's accusations. He turned to Carley for help, but he instead saw a face of disbelief. Except, it wasn't directed at him; it was over his shoulder. Lilly stopped her wild accusations. Curious, Lee shifted to see what was behind him. He now understood why they all had stunned expressions.

The man, the giant, the behemoth, his advance armour soaked in blood and gore, made his way toward them. "Fret not, captain, 'tis true what he says."

Larry sneered to himself. "Fucking monster."

A look of relief overtook the professor. "Jesus Christ, man. I honestly thought you were a goner." His voice was still shaken, not believing the sight of the soldier.

Sierra shook his head. "It'll take a great deal more than walkers to take me down."

Carley rushed past everyone to her saviour, giving him a desperate hug, not caring the blood will smear her clothing. "Thank god, you're safe," she said meekly.

A loud fake cough from Lilly made Carley realize what she just did. She embarrassingly let go of the Spartan. "Sorry," she muttered, a blush forming on her cheeks. "I, um, I'm glad you're safe."

Soon after the return of the super soldier, everyone returned to cleaning up the mess that was the motor inn. Finally finishing, Lee walked his way to the outskirt of the motel, pulling out the photo of his family, gazing at it with anguish and regret. He then heard screaming and gunfire in the distance. He quickly burned the picture and returned to the inn.

He approached the delivery boy. "Hey, Glenn." The man promptly brought his hand up, silencing his friend. They listened to the radio from Glenn's car, talking about various disaster zones as well as safe zones.

"I think I need to go," Glenn declared, breaking the silence between them.

"To Atlanta?" Lee questioned.

"Yeah..." He hesitated. "I-I got friends and family there, and I just can't stay here knowing that they could be trapped in that city."

"It sounds like nobody knows what's happening out there." Lee noticed Lilly's slow approach. "When we left a few days ago, it could've gone either way." Glenn looked at the radio, listening intently. Lee took this opportunity to swiftly signal Lilly to stop, shaking his head, indicating he'll handle this. Lilly paused, looked away, and gave Lee a scornful display before walking away.

Lee sighed. "You gotta do what you gotta do."

"And I gotta do this," Glenn stated.

"I respect that," Lee said, understanding.

"You guys be safe."

"We'll try," he responded.

Glenn took one last glance at the broken podium and to those around him. He shook his head, still listening to the radio. Mustering up his courage, before he could regret his decision, Glenn got in his sedan and drove off. Lee watched him go, before making his way to Kenny.

"Hey, Ken," he announced.

Kenny turned to his friend's call. "Close call back there," he answered back.

"Thanks for picking me up." Lee pulled his hand up for a shake, and Kenny obliged.

"No problem," the father returned. "We have to take care of each other."

"Yeah, we do," agreed Lee.

"I think you know what you're doing," Kenny said.

"Shit man, do any of us?" Leejoked.

"With Clementine, I mean," he clarified. "Earlier, you said you were clueless. I just wanted you to know that I look at you and I see the type of guy who figures things out. That girl is going to be just fine."

"Thanks, Kenny."

"You got it," he said and made his way toward his wife.

Lee made his way to Carley and Doug. Both were unloading boxes of supplies.

* * *

The super soldier observed the ex-convict as he talked to the various member of the group. He intently watched as Glenn drove away. He'll need an explanation for that later. But foremost he needed to rectify the old fool first.

Li waited until Lee was done talking to him, since he'd rather do this without ears of his companions. When the professor finally left, the super soldier approached the old soldier.

"What the hell do you want, you fucking monster?" Larry demanded.

"This will be your only warning, Larry. If I ever see you endanger the lives of this group again, I will personally kill you," Li warned the veteran, hovering over him, giving an appearance of a predator- no, more like a demon, waiting to devour a sinful soul.

Larry sneered at the younger soldier, not entirely affected by his warning.

Li pulled his knife and bore it close to his throat. "If you think this is a joke, you are gravely mistaken. And I will say this one last time, I do not care what Lilly or anyone else for that matter thinks, but if you do that again, I will torture you to the point where you wished that I killed you." He slammed the knife back to its helm. Small amounts of blood clouded around the area he poked.

The old veteran barely had a chance to say anything as Li walked to the outskirts of the motel.

He examined the area around. This place will need a great deal of fortification if they are going to set up base here, the giant thought.

Gunshot and explosions drew his awareness elsewhere. He concentrated, concluding they were further inside the city. Good, he thought, it'll draw the attention away from here, when he set up their defences.

"I hope that is the sound of us winning this thing," Kenny cheered.

He heard various agreements to Kenny's statement. Kenny continued with his speech, stating the military might arrive. Li disagreed but the others didn't share that opinion.

"We've got beds, we've got water, and most importantly, we've got light. " Kenny placed his hands on his hips. "They are worse places to call home."

"Yeah, you're right," agreed Lilly, "You know, guys, I think it's going to be okay."

Right after Lilly's assessment, all the electricity in the surrounding area turned off, causing fear and disarray amongst the people.

"Oh, bloody hell," Li blurted out. "I'll get on it."

* * *

I hope you guys enjoyed that and I know this chapter might be familiar well this is basically the second half of the first episode of the first game. Anyways please review, follow, and favorite. Till next time!


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